Raising Dragons
by Merble
Summary: Drabble Fic. Lucy comes home to find seven new roommates and her life is flipped in the aftermath of their arrival. Follow her as she rights the past, kicks major bad guy butt, and tries to get back the family she discovered she needed. Rated M for language, graphic violence, and adult situations.
1. Greetings

_Decided to do a drabble series about Lucy's life being turned upside down by seven new...roommates. Enjoy!_

–

 **Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

–

 **GREETINGS**

A normal day for Lucy Heartfilia, upon returning home, usually meant that someone from the guild would be waiting inside her apartment. Normal intruders were her team, Levy, Mira, and sometimes even Lisanna.

Rarely did she have people like Laki, Evergreen, or even Laxus break into her place but it had happened. The blond was convinced there was some sort of game or challenge that she didn't know about.

So it was surprising to return home to near quiet, no landlady shouting at her about the noise. No, this time she returned to see seven small dragons in the room.

–

 **Uh oh, trouble is afoot, so it begins. Each chapter is going to be 100-300 words long, a challenge for me since I like to be fairly detailed. Hope you enjoy what I have planned and I'm posting a new chapter a day :D**


	2. Confusion

**Hiro Mashima Owns Fairy Tail**

–

 **CONFUSION**

The blond could only stare at the scaly, though one she noticed had feathers, baby monsters in her apartment; the feathered dragon was curled up on her bed and simply watching the others, the red and cream dragon was snapping its small teeth at the white dragon.

Lucy let out a sound that barely even seemed human as she looked at them, and they looked back at her, before she scrubbed her eyes and willed them away. When she opened her eyes again they were all looking at her like she was insane.

What a nightmare this was becoming. Fuck.

–

 **Thank you for all the follows!**


	3. Not A Dream

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

–

 **NOT A DREAM**

Lucy sank slowly into her lumpy armchair and stared at the little things as they all looked at her. Red and cream had to be a Fire Dragon, the feathered one had to be a Sky Dragon, there was nothing the little metal one could be other than an Iron Dragon.

There was a golden one with blue eyes that had sparks dancing along his scales, a very dark red one with dark purple eyes, and two that had magic leaking off them in black and white.

A sharp bite on her finger made it known this wasn't a dream.

–

 **Thank you for all the follows and favorites! I'm having a lot of fun with this and it's quite a challenge for me since I usually write longer and detailed chapters. The plot seems slow for now but that's mostly just Lucy coming to terms with her new housemates. I have up to chapter 15 typed out and I'm still working on more. Decided to do two updates a day, one in the morning and one in the evening. Just because I love all of ya!**


	4. Caught Unaware

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

–

 **CAUGHT UNAWARE**

The little Iron Bastard was laughing at her, he had to be, as she nursed her bandaged fingertip. Lucy had nearly vaulted off the armchair when it happened, since it wasn't something she was expecting, and now she had to deal with what was happening.

The blond took out her mini communications lacrima and called Mira, she needed the Dragon Slayers' help, and as the barmaid answered the device Lucy smiled. "Mira could you have Natsu, Gajeel, Wendy, and Laxus please come to my place?" There was a slight hum.

"Sorry Lucy, they're on a mission for another week."

Fuck.

–

 **Since I just changed it to 2 updates a day I'm gonna go ahead and post 3 & 4 today and tomorrow ye shall receive 5 & 6.**


	5. I Dub Thee

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

–

 **I DUB THEE**

Lucy regarded her house guests and sighed. "Alright, I'll have to deal with it for now, do you have names?" The dragons looked at her, the feathered one chirping, and now she sighed. "Fine. Igneel, Grandine, Metalicana, Weisslogia, Skiadrum..." The blond rattled off, pointing to the four dragons she knew the names of.

Her eyes scanned the other two and she cautiously touched the golden one, feeling a jolt travel through her, and it let out a little sound like a bark. "Ampere." Though she'd probably just call him Amp in the end. Her eyes skated to the last one.

–

 **Better off naming the last two Sexy 1 and Sexy 2**


	6. Next Order of Business

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

–

 **NEXT ORDER OF BUSINESS**

The maroon dragon looked up at her with defiant eyes. It was daring her to give her a name, she knew, and she crossed her arms under her chest. "Viper." It was a snake-like dragon after all, it made sense to her, and she sat down on the chair only for Metalicana to crawl into her lap.

"You little jerks aren't keeping me up all night, got it?" The little monsters all nodded, seemingly so innocent now, and Lucy sighed. "What do you guys even eat?" This wasn't going to be easy, she knew, so she called Crux to help.

–

 **Just so you know I am aware that Crux generally only has information on spirits and their summoners but I'm going with the theory that with her increase in strength he can reveal other things to her now within limits.**


	7. Dinner

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

–

 **DINNER**

Thankfully Crux knew about the diet of each dragon, the one constant was fish at least so she didn't have to worry too much, and Lucy sighed as she headed for the freezer. They could eat it raw or cooked, their stomachs would break it down safely, and she had Aries make small beds for them while Virgo made a potty area.

Lucy shivered as she pulled the fish from her last fishing trip out, a whole mess of them really since she'd used a net and gotten quite a number. There was a distinct growling behind her.

Food time.

–

 **Feeding dragons cannot be pretty...or clean...or even safe.**


	8. Lessons Learned

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

–

 **LESSONS LEARNED**

She was ignoring the now sleeping guests as she coated another cut in ointment, the sun was setting and with Virgo's help she'd survived dinner, turns out the little beasts were territorial about their food. Go figure.

"Lucy?" Her mini communications lacrima lit up as Mirajane's voice filtered through, the blond blinked and lifted it to her ear. "Yes Mira?" The barmaid giggled.

"You sound tired, I forgot to tell you that Laxus has a communications lacrima with him." The blond female let out a gasp before grinning. "Thanks Mira, gotta go." The blond needed help, pronto, so she called.

–

 **Does she get the help or run into a brick wall?**


	9. Pleading

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

–

 **PLEADING**

The silence was deafening as she waited for an answer, someone to speak, and then she heard Natsu's voice let out a whine. "You have baby dragons at your place? Right after we leave? No fair!" Lucy wanted to smack the hell out of him.

"You named them after our parents?" Sting's voice sounded and Lucy huffed. "I wasn't going to name them Beasty One and so fourth. They're all your elements anyway." Rogue made a soft noise and she heard Wendy giggle.

"Even a poison one?" Erik asked.

"Pretty sure considering it drank bleach. Seriously though, I need help."

–

 **Just wanted to say thank you for all the follows and favorites, please reviews would be appreciated but they aren't necessary, and if there's a scenario you think would be funny feel free to PM me the ideas. I'm open to suggestions :)**


	10. Sanity

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

–

 **SANITY RETURNED**

"Sure, Blondie, when we get back we'll help." Laxus assured her, earning a relieved sigh, and then the men blinked as they heard a shriek.

"Oh no! Metalicana you get your nose out of my panty drawer!" They blinked as they heard chirping, the sound of a crash, and then the sound of growling.

"Don't growl at me, Igneel, I'll toss your ass in the canal." Natsu was laughing, he couldn't help it, Lucy was funny.

"Lucy-san! Ask Grandine to put them to sleep!" Wendy called, waiting, and blessed silence was their reply.

"Lucy-san?"

Gajeel laughed, Lucy was out too.

–

 **Never excluded herself with that one**


	11. Peace and Quiet

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

–

 **PEACE AND QUIET**

Purring was what woke her up, a soft and constant purr, along with the fact that she was warm. Lucy sighed softly and nuzzled her face closer to the cool surface near her face. A trilling chirp made her flinch, eyes opening, and she looked at the white dragon on her bed post.

A green glow surrounded him before he tumbled off and into the pile of dragons surrounding Lucy as Grandine lowered her head again, nobody wanted the peace disturbed yet it seemed.

"Lucy! We got back as fast as we could!" Natsu's shout sounded. Thank Mavis.

–

 **Help has arrived!**


	12. Reinforcements

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

–

 **REINFORCEMENTS**

As she expected Igneel took to Natsu, Grandine to Wendy, Metalicana to Gajeel, Weisslogia to Sting, Skiadrum to Rogue, Ampere to Laxus, and Viper to Erik. Each Slayer was being quite careful with their respective dragons, wondering about their origin, and Lucy was relaxing on her bed at the peace.

It was Metalicana's low growl that made her glance over, Gajeel was teasing him with a strand of black hair, and Lucy looked at the clock. "How often do they eat?" The Slayers smiled. "Five times a day." Lucy stood up and paused.

"Hold them tight, okay?" They all nodded.

The following breakfast debacle became one that would never be spoken of again after a few very not manly screams of pain, a lot of biting and cursing, and Lucy found it amusing to watch these strong mages crumble to the small dragons meal time mess.

–

 **I promise that I will make a chapter dedicated to describing meal time once I get a few funny ideas for any kind of chaos that might happen. Feel free to PM me ideas about that or just any funny scenes you might want to see. As a thank you for all the follows and favorites, as well as the lovely reviews, I'm posting two extra chapters after this for today. Hope you enjoy!**


	13. Survival

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

–

 **SURVIVAL**

Gajeel was staring at her, as was Erik, and Lucy covered another of the Iron Dragon's cuts with ointment. "How the hell did you survive with just Virgo?" Lucy shrugged, her own wounds untended as she cared for the guys, and as she finished on Gajeel the Iron Dragon surprised her by pulling her down and beginning to treat her cuts.

A flush rose to her face, one she couldn't stop, and Lucy glanced at the little beasts as they wrestled around together. "So are you guys going to take them home?" The slayers looked at each other then her.

–

 **No whammy, no whammy, no whammy~**


	14. Let Down

**Hiro Mashima Owns Fairy Tail**

–

 **LET DOWN**

"It's not a good idea to separate them now that they're essentially being raised together, and its not a good idea to take them from you." Rogue started, watching her face, and he could see the way she grew paler.

"By feeding them and taking them in you've become their 'mother' while we're simply your...consorts." Apparently in Dragon culture it wasn't uncommon for a female to have a small harem of males, like a Queen, and Lucy whimpered as she looked at the scaly babies.

"So I'm their mother?" The men nodded, watching her, and she fell into Gajeel.

–

 **Lucy Heartfilia, Mother of Dragons, Princess of the Stars. Makes a great title for any kind of royal :D**


	15. Coming To

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

–

 **COMING TO**

It was a sharp bite of pain on her already injured finger that made Lucy sit up, her eyes searching, and Metalicana nuzzled himself into her belly. "You alright now, Bunny Girl?" Lucy blinked and looked at Gajeel, who was the only one left, and she blinked.

"I guess...where's…?" Gajeel snorted. "They're getting bedrolls, we've decided to all camp out on your floor for the first week to help ya." Lucy blinked at the rough and tough slayer before smiling. "Thanks, for catching me earlier, and for coming to help." The male laughed.

"Anything for you, Bunny Girl."

She blushed.

–

 **Let the romancing begin, planning to do a poll to decide who ends up with Dragon Mama.**


	16. Mission

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

–

 **MISSION?**

It was only after a moment of silence, when Lucy got her blushing under control after Viper tried to dissolve her curtains, that the blond remembered a vital piece of information.

"Weren't you guys on a mission for the week?" Gajeel's crimson eyes met hers and he smirked.

"Finished it in a few hours, the week thing was for training, you're more important. Considering you were being terrorized..." He trailed off as he put his scales on his arms, playing rather roughly with the little Iron Dragon, and Lucy smiled as she watched.

"He seems to like you."

He blushed.

–

 **You all need to help me with my dilemma, I love many Lucy pairings and am wondering if this should be a harem story or if I should have her romance one person. Obviously Wendy is out of the mix because she's a kid but the other six men are possibilities.**


	17. Bath Time

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

–

 **BATH TIME**

It was with a lot of noise that the others returned, Natsu arguing with Sting about food, and Lucy looked up from the floor where she was laying with Skiadrum curled on her stomach while Grandine was nuzzling into her cheek.

"Luce why are you on the floor? Where's Gajeel?" Natsu asked as he looked around.

"We're bathing them, one at a time, and I had to wash up these two and Viper. Neither of us are going anywhere near Ampere with water." The little lightning dragon always gave off sparks and neither she nor Gajeel was suicidal.

Laxus laughed.

–

 **Needed, one dragon wash and some sanity**


	18. Sleep is for the Weak

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

–

 **SLEEP IS FOR THE WEAK**

Wendy smiled as Lucy stepped out of the bathroom, they'd all taken turns and showered already, and the blond woman glanced at the line of bedrolls on her floor.

Lucy crawled onto her bed and Natsu peered up at her with his best pouty face. "You stay on the floor tonight, Natsu, Wendy-chan can sleep up here with me." The fire slayer pouted even more while Wendy beamed and jumped onto the soft bed.

"Trust me when I say we'll be buried in baby dragons come morning." Lucy warned, earning another giggle, and the guys grinned in a knowing way.

They knew why.

–

 **What child doesn't love sleeping with Mama? Especially cute little dragons.**


	19. Double Trouble

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

–

 **DOUBLE TROUBLE**

There was whispering, growling, and a lot of movement that woke Lucy. The baby dragons were piled on top of her and Wendy, as she had warned, and Ampere chirped at her from inside her tank top.

"Ampere, get out of my shirt!" The guys blinked as they looked up, their jaws dropping as Lucy pulled the gold dragon from her shirt and showed them (without her knowing of course) a small flash of her breasts fully.

A bark from the dresser made her turn. "Viper!" The snake-like dragon was weaving out of her underwear drawer, a few pairs of her expensive panties stuck to his scales.

"Holy shit, Viper you're awesome!"

Lucy almost fainted.

–

 **Which one thinks the resident pervy babies are awesome? Resident pervs include...all of them except Wendy.**


	20. Prepare for Pain

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

–

 **PREPARE FOR PAIN**

Erik was nursing a black eye from his comment, Laxus and Gajeel had only just managed to stop laughing at him, and Natsu was helping round the little buggers up for their first meal of the day.

Sting and Rogue watched as the blond female sliced up various fruit for Grandine, Skiadrum, and Weisslogia. Viper had a mixture of poisonous berries, Ampere had a mix of lemon slices and lime slices as well as grapefruit, and Igneel had still warm coals.

Iron shards for Metalicana, from Gajeel, and then a mess of fish.

Lucy prepared for the chaos to start, knowing that meal time was becoming her least favorite, and she looked at the agitated baby dragons. Since they hadn't eaten enough yesterday they were snapping and biting at everything, and everyone, so now she had to make up for that.

–

 **Thankfully she isn't going in alone!**


	21. One Piece

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

–

 **ONE PIECE**

The television was a distraction for the little monsters as the slayers and Lucy nursed their wounds again, the small cuts and scrapes from the night before had healed up well enough that she didn't need to bandage them again.

Lucy sat down in front of Erik, looking at his swollen eye, and he turned his head as a light blush colored his cheeks while she began wiping his cuts with a wet rag. "I didn't realize you packed that strong a punch, Starlight." He watched her eyes dance.

"I've got a lot of training." Her eyes roved over to Natsu as the fire dragon slayer lay sprawled out on the floor, he'd gotten decked when he played grab ass during dinner when he 'protected' Lucy from getting burned by Igneel. Sting chuckled.

"It's scary that the guy I idolize is an idiot." The white dragon slayer commented, more to himself, and Rogue shook his head as Sting dropped an arm over Lucy's shoulder once Erik was finished being treated; her eyes met his and he smirked as he leaned in slightly.

"So Lucy, I need to make a confession. I'd like to get between your legs and eat my way straight to your heart." Chocolate eyes widened, her heartbeat thundered, and Sting had all of two seconds before her powerful kick knocked him straight into the wall. The blond slammed the bathroom door shut after putting away the first aid kit, her movements tense, and the baby dragons picked up on it. Rogue shook his head as the small beasts eyed the white dragon.

–

 **Uh oh~**


	22. Revenge of the Babies

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

–

 **REVENGE OF THE BABIES**

It seemed to be a series of unfortunate events for Sting, any attempt at apologizing to the blond was shot down when one of the dragon pups would interfere, and he was getting annoyed.

They had taken the small beasts out into the forest outside of town to give them fresh air, Wendy's idea, and now they were watching as the little beasts followed after Lucy like baby birds.

"It's so cute!" The blond gushed, her nerves seemed to be gone, and Wendy giggled as the blond broke into a jog and the babies scrambled to keep up.

Sting cursed.

Even Erik and Natsu had gotten to make up for their comments, which pissed the white dragon slayer off, and the poison dragon had even earned a kiss on the cheek when he made both Lucy and Wendy matching flower crowns. Rogue was currently sitting beside the blond as Gajeel sparred with Laxus and Sting wasn't blind to see that Lucy was eyeing the pair as they moved.

The two were ripped in a way that just wasn't fair and it seemed that fate spoiled all his plans. Well, more like a sassy little snake dragon but he needed someone to blame.

–

 **Sting: 0**

 **Babies: 1**


	23. Mama Gonna Knock You Out

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

–

 **MAMA GONNA KNOCK YOU OUT**

Chocolate pools narrowed, knuckles white from how tightly her fists were clenched, while Gray laughed at the sight before him of the scaly babies. They'd just gotten home to find Erza and Gray waiting inside the apartment, sent by Mira after the call the few days prior.

"That's just your luck isn't it, Lucy, getting stuck watching a bunch of baby monsters." His words sealed the deal for the state of his face.

"Don't call them that!" The punch was brilliant, far stronger than the one Erik was blasted with that morning.

They were her obnoxious babies to call names, anyone else would get hurt.

The Dragon Slayers all laughed at the fate of the Ice Mage and Erik was feeling grateful that she'd held back this morning. Sting looped an arm over her shoulder and kissed her cheek. "Lucy not only do I apologize for my rather crass line earlier but I applaud you for such a robust display of your devotion to our wonderful group of hatchlings." He was really nervous as her brows lifted while looking at him.

Her laughter made him drop his head. "I'm sorry, Sting, but I didn't realize your vocabulary was quite that extensive. I'm quite fascinated, really, perhaps I was wrong to have speculated you as being nearly as asinine as Natsu."

Sting blinked before he felt her kiss him on the cheek. "There's somewhere else you could-" It was Natsu's fist that sent the male flying into the wall.

"Don't even think about talking to Luce that way!"

"Natsu, no fire inside!"

"Owww! Luce no!"

Blessed silence filled the room as Laxus mentally applauded the blond for the four black eyes she'd caused.

–

 **I want to thank everyone for such fantastic reviews and would like to take the time to tell everyone that this entire story is dedicated to a handful of fantastic authors who've helped inspire me to actually post what I think up. GemNika, Eien ni Touko, Dragon'sHost, Leoslady4ever, and LittlePrincessNana; thank you so much for all your wonderful support.**


	24. Investigate

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

–

 **INVESTIGATE**

The redheaded requip mage shook her head as she looked at the unconscious mages, the dragons were chirping happily as they crowded and clung to Lucy, and Erza Scarlet laughed merrily.

The sound caught every male off guard, especially Erik, considering she wasn't usually so expressive.

As they watched the dragons tentatively sniff the woman they realized it was the babies, those little beasties had softened even the mighty Titania.

"The hammer wielding psycho isn't as scary if she's smiling like that." Erik whispered, earning nods from Laxus and Gajeel, it was true that Erza wasn't as stone cold as she used to be but the babies were actually making her look softer. A cute blush showed on her face as she held Igneel close to her face, he was nuzzling her since her hair matched his scales, and Viper was currently wrapped around her neck.

Wendy sighed and began treating Sting, looking at the older slayers as Lucy moved to prepare for the next feeding, and the Sky Dragon glanced at Grandine; the feathered dragon chirped and helped remove the poison, since Wendy was teaching her, and the Sky Slayer smiled warmly at the miniature of her mother.

It hurt, she couldn't lie, to see this little dragon and know that her mother was still missing. Perhaps the babies were offspring of their parents? Wendy glanced at Lucy as the blond worked in the kitchen and Wendy got up to join her as the others started a shouting match over which dragon was the best.

"Lucy-neesan...have you asked Crux-jiji or Horologium-" The blond nodded, a finger to her lips, and Wendy fell silent. In the blonde's eyes she saw the pain of the possibility of having to send the dragons away, of losing them, and Wendy realized that Lucy _loved_ these dragons despite their curious arrival.

–

 **Auntie Erza meets the babies. She's still scary, I promise; and now we add some plot rather than random silliness.**


	25. Current

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

–

 **CURRENT**

Lunch was a rather intense affair, with Gray and Erza present things seemed to run much smoother since there were more people to keep the babies from attacking each other, and the blond female dropped onto her bed as the beasties began play wrestling.

"You got a burn, hold still." The blond froze as a light brush of fingertips on her calf made her shiver, Gray's cool fingers leaving a thin layer of ice to cool down the heated skin, and a loud bark was followed by a shock that traveled through him and into her.

Large hands pried Gray off her, so Ampere stopped biting the Ice Mage, and Laxus felt the static travel through Lucy and into him while he smoothed her hair down.

"You alright, Blondie?" He asked as he spied the small golden dragon snapping at Gray's heels with the rest now helping chase him.

"I think so. But now my leg feels numb." He glanced down and ran a hand over her smooth skin while Wendy walked over.

"I'm gonna head out." Gray called before using the window to escape while Erza shook her head in amusement.

The redhead had gone into 'Scary Erza' mode during dinner so that too could explain the sudden cooperation of the little dragons. That Erza could scare a dragon into behaving was both impressive and intimidating.

Lucy felt her keys hum and her hand hovered over Crux's key, a single indigo eye watching her carefully, and the blond's expression gave nothing away to anyone else.

Erik though didn't take his eyes off her, the blonde's face was damn near perfectly masked, but he could feel the discord and sadness in her soul.

 _Space-Time magic had brought them to Lucy but it wasn't just any magic. It had been Horologium's magic._

–

 **Little longer of a chapter, as I said they'll be between 100-300 words, the first handful were all nearly exactly 100 words excluding the titles and disclaimers and stuff but then I decided to stay upward in words since the super short chapters made any plot progression rather slow. Thanks again for all the amazing support you guys~**


	26. Dinner Revisited

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **DINNER REVISTED**

Lucy could hear the small dragons snapping and barking at each other, the slayers all holding them tightly, and she glanced at Virgo beside her. The blond had ended up spending the rest of the day with Erza and the babies so the slayers could head home and grab more clothes as well as shop for groceries.

As soon as the blond was in sight with the plates of fish the hatchlings began squirming and thrashing even more, barking and whining loudly, and the blond ducked as a blast of fire shot over her head as Igneel tried to break free of Natsu's grip.

The plates of their secondary food items, things that fed their magic, were set down beside each of their plates; all scattered around the room, and Lucy nodded as she backed away from the plates and Virgo vanished.

The dragons scampered to their food, chewing and snapping at the plates of fish first, and Lucy jumped to catch Weisslogia before he could take off in flight around the room with a mouthful of half-chewed food.

His small teeth snapped at her but she didn't let go, she knew that Wendy had it the easiest since Grandine wasn't fussy about her food.

A loud clatter earned her gaze as Igneel finished his food first, spouting a burp that was a fireball, and his flame hit Viper before a cloud of poison mist became visible.

"Erik!" The slayer ate the poison before it could spread, Natsu now holding Igneel very tightly so the others could eat, and Lucy sighed softly before letting out a shriek as Metalicana barreled into her legs and sent her sprawling to the floor.

–

 **Friggin out of control babies**


	27. Iron Heart

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **IRON HEART**

Weisslogia was off, the moment her grip on him was loose, and she ducked her head as sparks shot out over her when Amp aimed to get Metalicana for knocking her down.

"Shit, Bunny, come on." Weisslogia had torn her hand up with his teeth and Metalicana's scales had sliced into her calves, Gajeel scooped her up into his arms as Laxus and the others had Wendy and Grandine put them to sleep since the food was gone.

Lucy flinched as Gajeel turned on the shower head, pulling it down to rinse the blood from her skin, and she blinked as he made her hold the shower head with her good hand before he grabbed the first aid kit.

"Your hand is gonna need a few stitches, Bunny Girl." He informed her, the skin between her index finger and thumb of her left hand had been torn pretty deep, and Wendy stepped into the bathroom.

"Here, I'll treat what I can." Gajeel nodded, watching carefully as Wendy worked, and Lucy studied his face carefully. He was openly concerned and it was...her heartbeat sped up.

–

 **Came to a choice, decided to make it the S.S Dragon Harem.**


	28. Thunder Buddies

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **THUNDER BUDDIES**

It was pouring rain, the sky streaking with lightning, and Laxus had Ampere flying while he shot through the sky and helped teach the dragon how to eat lightning without hurting himself. The slayers were working on teaching their own dragons, as expected Grandine had picked it up quickly as had Metalicana, and this was the only time Laxus could teach the little beast.

He could see Lucy watching them from her window, the others had taken their dragons for the day to work on eating their element some more, and so Lucy was simply watching. He had noticed the way her gaze lingered on Gajeel more and more, over the past couple of days, and he honestly felt something akin to jealousy and nerves.

Lucy was an amazing girl and he'd always had an eye on her since she'd first joined, he honestly felt like he had little to no chance with her simply because of what he'd done, and knowing now that Gajeel had managed to earn her attention meant that he had a chance.

His eyes flashed as Amp let out a yawn, having expended a lot of energy in flying and eating, so Laxus grabbed the little devil and streaked down to the window. Lucy had ended up moving the bed to another area of the room, so they could use the window for the dragons, and he stepped inside easily.

A towel landed on his head and he chuckled as she waved at him, Amp went and curled up in his wool bed without a peep.

"Thanks Lucy." She grinned.

"Anytime, Sir Sparks a Lot."

He blushed when she winked at him.

–

 **Title gave it away and that was the plan~**


	29. Chemical Warfare

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **CHEMICAL WARFARE**

She felt tears stinging her eyes, blinking furiously, and a hand clapped over her mouth as the blond looked between Natsu and Sting; the two slayers _reeked_ and if she could smell it then she knew the others would _die_ from it. "The hell did you two eat? Oh god I'm going to be sick." Lucy bolted for her bathroom, slamming the door, and heaved as she held the toilet bowl.

"Luce! Are you okay?" Natsu called out, she had locked the door for a reason, and the blond whimpered. "You two smell disgusting! Whatever you ate made you so gassy that it's making me sick!" Lucy wasn't dumb, she knew that Natsu got bad gas from things considering he rarely watched what he actually ate, and she knew they were just letting it rip without caring.

"Oh, what the hell you two?!" Wendy sounded distressed, rarely did the Sky Dragon use foul language like that, and Lucy finally felt her stomach settle.

"Oi! What did you two eat?!" Gajeel's deep voice rang out.

"Sting, we discussed this before. You do not eat honey mustard and onion pretzels, they make you reek." Rogue commented, all voices muffled, and Lucy braved opening the door to see them all holding their hands over their faces.

"Not even my poison smells this bad. You're starting up chemical warfare." Erik accused and Lucy coughed when she caught a small bit of the scent before turning around, finally releasing the contents of her stomach into the toilet.

"Lucy-neesan!" Wendy called out.

Natsu and Sting ducked their heads in shame.


	30. Cuddle Bug

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **CUDDLE BUG**

It was warm, comfortable, and Lucy buried her face closer into the warmth as she yawned widely. The guys had handled caring for the hatchlings the day before since Lucy was ill all day, turns out she'd gotten minor food poisoning from the sausage that Sting had made for the slayers and Lucy to eat for breakfast before everyone took the dragons for magic training.

Lucy blinked her eyes open into a bare chest, she could see that the barely visible hairs were rosy pink and when her eyes raised she knew it was Natsu holding her close; his pink lashes were closed, making him look so relaxed, and she had to confess that she'd thought his hair was dyed until she realized that his eyelashes were pink.

It made him look softer, when he wasn't ignited on fire to hurt someone, and Lucy blinked as an arm dropped over her side. There were studs on the tanned skin, a body curled behind her, and she realized at that moment that she was in a giant pile of baby dragons and slayers.

"You're cuddly when you're ill, Starlight." Erik spoke in a sleepy voice, making her hum as she looked up to see his nose buried in her hair, and Rogue let out a soft snore to his left.

"Just go back to sleep, Bunny, it's only six in the morning." Gajeel rumbled behind her. Lucy shifted, getting comfortable again, and closed her eyes.

Grandine had nestled between her and Natsu, Viper was curled over her shoulder, and the other dragons had wedged themselves so they all touched her somehow. Meanwhile the slayers were simply curled around her on a large arrangement of all the bedrolls.

–

 **I wanna be in a dragon pile :(**


	31. Girlfriends

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **GIRLFRIENDS**

Lucy was finished, at long last, she'd drafted the last manuscripts of her novel for Levy-chan to review for her; it was all about her adventures in Fairy Tail, from start to now. Levy had helped her come up with a name too, one that Lucy knew few would get, and yet as she considered her changing feelings she wondered if it was too personal.

"A Bunny Among Fairies?" Her eyes widened as Wendy appeared over her shoulder, Erza and Levy waving as Lisanna and Juvia sat down on the bed. "Yea, it's my novel, it's about my adventures in Fairy Tail. We picked it because rabbits are my favorite animal." Levy nodded, sitting down in the armchair, and Lucy handed her the last few chapters.

"You're finished?" Lucy nodded. "Yes, this one, I plan to make another book called Mother of Dragons though. I've got a lot of inspiration." The babies were wrestling on the floor now.

"Speaking of inspiration...any of the guys make a move on you yet?" Cana asked as she sashayed inside and Lucy blushed.

"W-well..." Wendy hummed.

"Gajeel has been the one who's been stepping up when she gets hurt at meal time."

"Gajeel? I wonder if he's pierced _everywhere_?" Cana licked her lips and Lucy turned bright red.

"As long as you don't try to take my man we're good." Lucy blinked at Cana.

"Who?" Cana smirked.

"Bacchus." That made Lucy laugh.

"I haven't even had a conversation with Bacchus, let alone an interest." The Card Mage beamed.

"Excellent."

"But Lucy-neesan has been watching all of the guys pretty equally."

–

 **I have a few off the wall pairings here for the guys that I hope people enjoy**


	32. Trapped

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **TRAPPED**

Mira's arrival at the small apartment brought Evergreen, Meredy, Sorano, Yukino, Chelia, and Flare. As it turned out the redheaded mage who had a bit of hero worship toward Lucy had joined Sabertooth, who was visiting since Sting and Rogue had been in Magnolia for so long.

"Hello girls." They all met the dragons, who were oddly well behaved, and Lucy blinked as she noticed Cana and Mira exchanging looks.

"I propose a game!" Mira suddenly declared, Cana cheering, and the blonde's eyes narrowed as she watched them. Those two were the most infamous matchmakers in the guild and Lucy wasn't quite sure if she could _pick_ between any of the guys. She didn't even really know some of them that well but all of them had found a place in her heart already.

"What kind of game?" Levy asked, curious now, and Mirajane giggled. "Just a game called 'I Have Never' Levy." The blond Celestial Mage frowned as the other girls all gave positive agreements.

"What do you say, Lucy?" The blond knew that all eyes were on her and she felt a small bit of sweat form, the pressure was on.

"Sure!" She chirped, unaware of the gleam in Cana's eyes.

"I'll start! I have never not given a guy a blowjob when we have sex." The double negative was a little confusing but Mirajane, Meredy, Sorano, Evergreen, Erza, and Yukino all took drinks of their beer since they _had_ always given head during sex.

Sorano glanced at her little sister and nearly choked. "Who the hell are you sleeping with?! I'll kill 'em!"


	33. A Little Bird Told Me

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **A LITTLE BIRD TOLD ME**

"Your turn, Lucy." The blond frowned and blushed. "I have never had sex with a guy." Only Levy, Wendy (who had fruit punch), and Aries didn't drink. "Seriously? You're still a virgin?" Lucy hummed.

"Not exactly." Cana blinked and her brows came together. "But you jus-" The Card Mage's eyes flew wide. "You slept with another girl!? I didn't know you were into that, Lucy. Who was it?" The blond let out an awkward giggle.

"Uh..."

Levy sighed and held up her hand. "It was me. We were...curious." Lucy blushed. "You two...you've...huh?" Mirajane looked baffled for a moment before her eyes narrowed. "So was it just a curiosity thing or…" Lucy smiled.

"We'd been kissing each other (to practice) for...months actually...and one day I was feeling particularly turned on and Levy figured it out so..." Levy grinned and flushed slightly while Lucy trailed off, the girls wouldn't confess that Levy had been utterly dominant and caused the blond to practically melt from the way the normally shy blunette took control.

None of the girls were aware that Loke's scrying lacrima was tucked among the throw pillows or that they had a room full of men listening to their game.

–

 **I could totally see Levy being dominant considering her team constantly try to overshadow her without realizing it. Yes I plan to do a chapter for the reactions of the manfolk.**


	34. I Have Never (Omake)

_Wanted to thank everyone for the reviews (omg over 100!) so I decided to do a longer chapter to showcase the 'I Have Never' game. 'Tis my gift to everyone for their support! Just so you know they're sitting in a circle on the floor. Order is Cana, Lucy, Flare, Aries, Juvia, Erza, Evergreen, Mirajane, Lisanna, Meredy, Yukino, Sorano, Chelia, Wendy, Levy, and then back to Cana._

 **Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **I HAVE NEVER**

After the confession of Lucy and Levy Sorano rounded on her sister. "You never told me who the hell you're sleeping with, Kino, don't even think you're getting out of this one!" The older celestial wizard pointed at her sister and Yukino let out a sigh. "Seriously, Sora? It's not really any of your business." That earned a sharp glare worthy of death.

"None of my business? You're my baby sister, Kino, and I always protected you. I'm your sister, we we're supposed to be best friends." A pout formed on the woman's face, and considering Sorano was gorgeous the look was quite something, and Yukino's eyes softened before she hugged her sister. "Okay, okay. I've been dating Orga." Sorano's expression darkened.

"Orga!? The massive lightning oaf?! Oh my god he's so fucking dead!" Sorano shot to her feet and shrieked as a blur of red whizzed by her face as Igneel flew in a wide circle to one of the many shelves that held the dragon beds. "Careful, if you startle them they'll start trading places to get away." Lucy warned, watching as the hatchlings all made clicking and chirping noises.

"Well, Flare, it's your turn." The redhead blushed. "I have never...used a sex toy." Since Flare had lived with the giants she was missing out on _many_ of the things most of the girls were used to, living with Yukino and being part of Sabertooth had helped the redhead become more comfortable among the rest of Fiore though, and all the girls save for Wendy took a drink.

"Flare you're missing out, girlfriend, wait...you have a boyfriend?" The redhead's face flushed. "W-well...sort of? We just get together whenever one of us is turned on." Yukino giggled. "There's no way he isn't in love with you considering that he wore that ridiculous...well his clothing is normally flamboyant. Never mind." Lucy tilted her head and Mirajane snapped her fingers. "Rufus?" Flare's blush darkened and the girls squealed collectively.

"I'll take my turn." Aries stuttered out, earning nods, and the ram spirit bit her lower lip. ( _In another location Loke was resisting the urge to interrupt and kidnap his dear ram_ ) "I have never...been involved in bondage." The girls collectively looked at each other and gasps flew up as both Lucy and Levy took shots. "W-what?!" Mirajane squealed, alarmed, and then the group all suffered from whiplash as they jerked their heads to Erza when the redhead took a shot.

"Wait. Hold up. Lucy and Levy obviously did that stuff together," Cana pointed at the two and earned a matching pair of nods. "but Erza who did you…?" The redhead shook her head and let out a carefree laugh. "Actually I too have...experimented...and it was with her that I indulged." The girls exchanged looks and Mirajane raised an eyebrow. Seeing the looks Erza rolled her eyes. "Kagura. We ran into one another on a mission and I couldn't ignore how beautiful she looked that night...she's very submissive. Jellal ended up joining us though." Lisanna and Juvia choked as the others almost fell out of their chairs.

"You had a threesome with Jellal and Kagura?!" Juvia screeched, shooting to her feet, and the dragons let out a distressed cry from her volume which got silent as Lucy's eyes narrowed. "S-sorry, Juvia forgot their hearing is more sensitive." Lucy nodded slowly, a warning, and the water mage realized it was her turn. "Juvia has never...done anal play." Aries, Mirajane, Meredy, and Chelia took drinks. "Ummm...Chelia I didn't know you…." The pink haired girl giggled. "I'm dating Eve, from Blue Pegasus, and he's pretty...persuasive?" Wendy blushed crimson and fell silent.

"Nothing wrong with a bit of fun." Cana commented, glancing at Mirajane with a glance the Satan Soul mage knew meant she was up for interrogation, and Meredy giggled. "Too true. It hurts at first, not gonna lie, but if he or she gets you worked up enough there's no pain." A few people looked at the Maguilty Mage and blinked in surprise.

"W-well then...I have never watched porn." Lucy snorted and took a drink, only Wendy and Flare left their drinks untouched. "So, anyone else find it weird we're including Wendy in on this?" Lisanna asked as she glanced at the girl. "Nah, Wendy may look fourteen but remember that she's biologically twenty one, besides that she's been exposed to Macao and Wakaba's perverted comments." Lucy waved her hand dismissively and the sky dragon slayer hummed.

"As a healer I'm supposed to know about the human body and Porylusica did make sure I knew reproductive health as well, I'm not unfamiliar with a man's naked body in the sense that I can heal it. I've just obviously never had sex or done anything like that due to the age dilemma." The girls all nodded, some felt bad for her considering how young she was stuck. "It's okay, Wendy, you'll get to do things like that eventually. You're not missing too much, sex can be good and bad." Evergreen assured the young girl.

"You're up, Evergreen." Flare reminded her and the woman gave a haughty laugh, debating on what to dish up. "I have never...had sex with the lights off." Flare snorted and drank, along with Meredy and Aries. "I never understood the whole debate between lights on or off." Levy spoke up, earning several looks, and the blunette shrugged as she continued. "If you're going to do the dirty what's the point in hiding your body? I know it's romantic with no lights and a ton of candles, or even having sex by starlight, but a person who goes for the prize should love your body regardless." Evergreen snorted. "I completely agree, that's why I've always kept the lights on, I enjoy watching his muscles flex and relax during sex; it's an amazing sight." Her face reddened and Lucy laughed.

"It's okay, Evergreen, you have the MANLY MAN after all." Lucy puffed her chest out, lowering her voice, and the girls erupted into laughter as the blond imitated Elfman. ( _In another location said manly man was blushing profusely about his woman's confession_ ) "Lucy please don't do that ever again." Levy asked with a giggle. "Awww...but you love it." The blond replied before Levy leaned in. "Maybe I do." The Solid Script Mage purred, her lips close to the blond's ear, and a growl alerted them as Viper slid up Lucy's arm and wrapped around her neck. "Viper, what is your deal?" Lucy chided the baby dragon with a low laugh.

"He's protecting you from physical attention by anyone other than your brood, the dragon slayers, it's sort of the set-up that's instinctively been formed. As we told you before there are cases of broods, groups of dragons led by a single matriarch, where the female will have anywhere from two to ten consorts. To the baby dragons, since they see you as their matriarch, the slayers are all your consorts. So any flirting will get quickly shut down." Wendy explained.

"So Lucy has a harem? What the fuck, I'm jealous." Cana pouted and Lucy turned bright red. "Don't be, they can be morons, Natsu and Sting tried to kill us two days ago." Wendy turned green at the memory. "Oh that was gross, go figure they're the ones with the sensitive stomachs. Though you got pretty messed up too." Lucy shook her head. "Once I emptied my stomach I was fine. But Sting is not cooking again, I refuse to chance that again." Lucy quickly told the girls about the very lightly undercooked sausage that gave her food poisoning.

"That's unfortunate, Lucy, don't hesitate to come by the guild for meals though. Oh, I'm up. I have never...played strip poker." Wendy was the only one not to drink, Lucy snickered at a memory of a girls night at Cana's house when she first played, it was surprisingly Lisanna with the worst poker face. "We should have a game later." Levy commented, casting a sly glance to the blond. ( _On the other end of the scrying lacrima the guys were drooling_ ) "Nah, I'm good. Besides, the last thing we need is the guys coming home to us half or completely naked." Cana snorted out a laugh.

"True enough. Lis you're up." The short haired Strauss frowned. "Hmm...I have never...slept with another Fairy Tail mage." Lucy, Levy, Mirajane, Evergreen, Cana, Sorano, and Erza took drinks. "Umm...Cana, Sorano...who did you two…?" Mirajane glanced between the two. "Oh, me? I managed to get Gray to take me home one night when we visited." The room expected Juvia to drown Sorano, all eyes shifted to the bluenette, but instead Juvia simply shook her head. "Juvia was the one to tell him to take the chance since he was so nervous about asking you." Sorano blinked after a moment. "Aren't you, like, obsessed with him?" The woman asked.

"Juvia was...she loved Gray, but he never returned Juvia's feelings." Erza dropped a comforting hand on her shoulder and Chelia giggled. "I'm glad you didn't turn to Lyon for the rebound." Juvia shook her head. "N-no. Lyon is a good man and deserves someone who can care for him sincerely...Juvia doesn't so she wouldn't string him along like that. B-but Juvia does have someone she might want to ask out." The mage pressed her fingers together and Cana's eyes twinkled in curiosity while Mirajane grinned darkly. "Leave it." Erza snapped, ready to fight to protect the water mage from being mobbed about sex and babies and the identity of mystery man.

"I-t's fine. Juvia was...Juvia was thinking of asking Bickslow on a date." A pink flush covered her face ( _Bickslow would fervently deny that he blushed if anyone asked_ ) and Lucy grinned. "He's pretty nice, once you get to know him, but he's a raging perv." Evergreen nodded. "Bicks...most people are scared of his eyes so don't be surprised if he wears the visor near constantly." The Fairy Mage warned, earning a nod, and Lisanna shook her head. "Bicks only acts like a perv because he doesn't date, he feels like he'd be a burden to a girl since there's always the chance of his magic activating, but I think you'd be good together." Juvia's face darkened to a shade of crimson the same color as Erza and Flare's shining hair.

"M-meredy it's you turn." The blunette deflected the attention to the maguilty mage. "Okay, okay. I have never...had a guy go down on me." Sorano barked as only Lucy, Wendy, and Juvia didn't drink. "Seriously? Macbeth is that much of a little bitch that he won't eat peach?" A few girls giggled, seeing as they were taking shots of rum and getting drunk, and Meredy blushed. "I don't...I don't know how to ask him to do it. I've always initiated any time we're together and I do it by blowing him so..." Sorano snorted. "Lazy bastard. Give him a dry spell for a few weeks and he'll be drinking you down like a man who hasn't had water in days." The celestial mage advised and Meredy nodded with a determined expression. ( _Elsewhere Midnight was being reprimanded by several of the guys for letting Meredy be the power top_ )

"My turn. I have never...been with a man that has a piercing down below." A few looks were exchanged and Meredy drank along with Chelia and Levy. "Oh god. Please don't tell me the Trimens have matching Prince Albert's." Meredy glanced at Chelia and Levy who both sighed. "They do. We didn't realize all of them had one until Sherry mentioned that she loved Ren's." Levy commented and then glanced at Lucy. "I know Cana asked but do you think he's pierced everywhere?" Lucy shrugged and it was a snort from Aries that made them glance at her.

"Remember that Leo joined them in the hot spring once in Crocus?" The girls stared at the spirit and nodded. "The Trimens were bragging about their piercings so Gajeel reminded them that they weren't the only ones. He's got a Jacob's Ladder on the underside of his shaft, apparently there are nine." Lucy's face turned bright red as naughty images filled her mind and Mirajane grinned wickedly along with Cana. "Uh oh, Aries your Master is about to melt. What's wrong, Lucy? Gonna have a hard time sleeping now that you know?" The blond let out a whimper. ( _Gajeel gave a snort of satisfaction elsewhere_ )

"I'm going to take my turn before Lucy over here suffers from spontaneous combustion. I have never been in Sorcerer's Weekly." Every girl drank except Meredy, though it included Aries since they'd done a six page spread on Lucy and her spirits, and Sorano grinned smugly. The goal was to find the one thing everyone else had done that you hadn't, after all, and she was the closest to winning the first round. Lucy hiccuped, smiling as Wendy sped up her metabolism to speed the liquor through her, and the girls were all in various states of intoxication at this point.

"I'm up! I have never had a wet dream." The group gave a collective gasp as everyone drank, including Wendy, and several eyes bugged as they stared at the sky dragon slayer. "Who the hell corrupted sweet little Wendy?" Juvia asked in shock. "It was the result of a potion, Lucy remembers, we were on a job and this enemy mage used a potion that knocked her and I out cold. We, uhh, shared a dream? I was older, I remember that much, like Edo-Wendy." Lucy's face turned an odd shade of scarlet ( _Lucy's lesbian tendencies were becoming a rather interesting conversation elsewhere among shouts of 'SHE'S A REAL MAN' from a certain individual_ ) and the girls shook away their surprise.

"W-well then...moving on. I have never...watched Gone with the Wind." Wendy didn't have any dirty things she could think of that hadn't been covered, or that she wanted to learn about the girls, so she went tame. It was met with laughter as everyone else drank, so far she was the closest to winning, and Levy hummed as she tried to think of something. The blunette glanced at the faces of the girls. "I have never...taken a dirty- oh wait never mind. Fuck, what haven't I done? Oh, got it. I have never been _filmed_ during sex." Lucy looked openly surprised as Erza, Sorano, Aries, and Cana drank.

"You guys..." Cana snickered. "Different guilds, for me, sweetheart. The only porn I want Baccus watching is _me_ so I let him record us together to use for his own entertainment. He knows that I'll know if he shows anyone and what'll happen." Cana explained before Sorano nodded. "Pretty much the same with Gray and I." Aries hummed. "Leo and I starred in a play with sex at one point when we were with Karen and she filmed it." The spirit explained and Lucy's eyes lowered as she thought of that. "I didn't think she'd do something like that, I've heard of pretty rotten things but that's just low." Aries shrugged. "She was our Master and I'm actually in several adult films in the Celestial Spirit World along with Virgo." Mirajane blinked.

"Then why are you so shy? I mean..." Aries giggled. "Oh, well, I'm not used to having humans be nice to me; that's why I've gotten a lot better with the apologizing and things. Leo and I have been working on it and Lucy's so nice to me that I don't feel like I _have_ to apologize anymore." Lucy's eyes watered. "Oh Aries, of course you don't need to, you're always helpful whenever I call you and I like that we can sit and hang out like this without it getting weird." They all knew she meant Virgo, considering the maid spirit always asked for punishment, and the ram smiled softly.

"Lucy isn't it dinner time for the dragons?" Mirajane asked, glancing at the clock, and the blond nodded. "Yea, actually, mind helping me keep the little brats in check?" The girls all nodded and Lucy headed for the kitchen with Lisanna while the other girls each made sure to keep a hand on the dragons.

–

 **That's the game~ Nice long break from the drabbles. Hope you enjoyed~**


	35. Busted

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **BUSTED**

The girls had helped with meal time, somehow it was easier with them there but Lucy reasoned that it had been because Mira and Erza terrified the little hatchlings. The girls were helping clean up when Lucy found the small orb, it had Celestial energy clinging to it, and she glanced at Aries.

"Hey, Aries, what is this?" The ram spirit blinked, taking the orb, and glared before the orb vanished in a swirl of gold.

"That is a scrying lacrima, from our world, we often use them to check up on our masters. That one in particular belongs to Leo." Lucy blinked, her eyes narrowing, and summoned Loke to her side.

"Hello Princess!" He greeted, either unaware that it had been there or fully aware and playing innocent, and the blond put her hands on her hips while the girls all grinned behind her.

"It was Gray's idea, I swear, he wanted to know why they were all told to stay away by Mira." Lucy huffed. "Who else saw everything?" Loke flinched.

"I take it everyone?" He nodded, waiting for a punch or something, but instead Lucy shook her head.

"Grand. Now they'll never leave me alone about Levy and I." Loke smirked.

"Had I known you were that curious, Princess I would hav- owwww!" He turned to glare at Viper as the snake-like dragon hissed at him, fangs out and eyes blazing.

"Watch it you li-" Loke never got to finish his statement as he was kicked right back into the spirit world, Aries was laughing as she vanished with a shake of her head.

Levy snickered while Wendy grinned. Mother dragons were extremely dangerous when their young were being threatened and Lucy was no different.


	36. Rare Moment of Wisdom

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **RARE MOMENT OF WISDOM**

" _I have never had sex with a guy."_

All brows in the room shot up, the guys who had been unfortunate enough to be drinking from their mugs or eating began choking.

"How the hell is someone as gorgeous as her a virgin?" Laxus asked in disbelief.

" _Seriously? You're still a virgin?" "Not exactly." "But you jus-"_

The men blinked furiously, some of them shifting as their blood ran south, and when it was revealed that Levy and Lucy had been friends with benefits up until Levy worked up the nerve to ask out Hibiki...well there were numerous nosebleeds.

"I never would have though that...Lucy..." Gray's face turned red and Erik growled before punching the Ice Make mage across the room and knocking him out.

"Imagine your own girl doing that, keep _ours_ out of your head." The Poison Dragon snarled.

"What do you mean by ours?" Jellal asked in surprise.

"Lucy is our," Erik motioned to the other dragon slayer males. "girl, Jellal, we're the only ones who are going to pursue her and we don't intend to let anyone else have a shot."

"So...you'll share her?" Sawyer asked as he quickly abandoned any thoughts of the blond, knowing Erik would quite literally skin him alive.

"Yes. It's not uncommon for a female dragon to have up to ten male consorts, they act as a family unit and care for their matriarch and any offspring. It's called a Brood and that's what we've sort of set up instinctively." Natsu spoke up afterward, though he was holding his hand over nose.

A few people looked at the pink haired slayer in surprise, they weren't even aware half of those words were in his vocabulary.

All attention went back to the game the moment Flare spoke up.


	37. Come Clean

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **COME CLEAN**

The apartment was near empty by the time the slayers dared head back, using caution as they stepped into the room, and they exchanged looks in the hallway before Natsu kicked Sting out into the room.

"H-hey Lucy." Sting laughed nervously as the blond lifted her gaze to him, her gale force glasses on since she'd been reading a book she'd gotten from Levy on Celestial Spirit Magic.

"Hey Sting, welcome home. The others with ya?" She didn't sound mad so Natsu braved the next appearance with Rogue before the last three stepped out. Wendy emerged from the bathroom, in her nightgown, her shook her head as she walked back to the bed and sat down while brushing her long hair.

"I have a question for you guys and I want you to be honest." Lucy started.

"We're so sorry, Lucy, we were really curious and couldn't help ourselves." Rogue spoke up before she could even say anything, his eyes sincere, and Lucy blinked at him in surprise at his sudden confession.

"We're guys, Bunny, you honestly think we _weren't_ going to listen in to something like that?" Gajeel rumbled out, kicking the carpet, and Laxus had his head turned while a blush showed on his face.

Lucy stared at them, all seeming sincere in their apology, and she couldn't help but shake her head as an exasperated smile showed on her face.

"Don't ask me for any details, don't ever ask for a show, and I'll ignore this...just this once." The guys looked at one another, alarmed, and then nodded furiously. If she was willing to forgive them they wouldn't take advantage of it.


	38. Wake Me Up

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **WAKE ME UP**

It was the smell of cooking food that woke her, along with the feeling of scales sliding along her skin, and Lucy blinked as she opened her eyes to find that Wendy was still curled against her side and sleeping peacefully. The blond lifted her eyes and looked toward the kitchen to see Mirajane, Levy, and Lisanna cooking food.

"Good morning. Where are the others?" Mirajane laughed lightly.

"We sent them all out to work, you have rent to pay after all, it's only been a little over a week that they've been here but they need to help pay the bills if they're staying." Lucy dropped her gaze to the sheets.

"They were only planning to stay for the week. I know the Exceeds are all coming back from their visit home-" Levy giggled. "They're already back, Carla asked that we send Wendy home after breakfast." Lucy nodded and stretched before getting out of bed.

"The Master told us that there's a job that requested Gray and Natsu specifically so he wants Erza, Wendy, and you to tag along to keep the pair under control." Lucy looked at the little dragons and Mira offered her a bright smile.

"I'll watch over them for you." Lucy nodded, feeling much better, and Levy offered her own giggle.

"Whatever slayers are home will help too, I'll help with Jet and Droy, and the guild is more than willing to help out. We'll bring the dragons by so everyone can meet them." Lucy nodded and woke Wendy up to tell her the plan.

"We need to make a potion antidote to counteract Viper's poison, just in case he bites someone." Wendy got to work after eating and Lucy admired the once shy girl. Wendy was growing too fast.


	39. Dragons in the Guild Hall

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **DRAGONS IN THE GUILD HALL**

Mirajane looked at the small runic play area they made for the little beasts, Freed planned to stop by her apartment and make a rune cage that they could use to help make meal time easier, and the rest of the guild was crowding around to look at the baby dragons.

With Lucy and Wendy gone the dragons seemed depressed and Reedus ended up using his Pict Magic to make a copy of Lucy but it didn't work because the scent was off.

"Lucy can't possibly raise seven dragons on her own and take them on jobs. I mean...yes they're _dragons_ but they're also babies." Bisca commented as she watched Asuka sit outside the runes and watch the young hatchlings.

Erik had to go with Crime Sorcière, which he and the rest of the Oracion Seis had joined after he'd gotten them freedom for helping in Crocus against the dragons, and Gajeel was on a job with Pantherlily (though Levy knew Jet and Droy had followed along). Natsu was with Lucy, as was Wendy, and the twin dragons of Sabertooth were heading back so Sting could pass leadership to Rufus so they could join Fairy Tail to be close.

Laxus was the only Dragon Slayer in the guild at the moment and he didn't look that happy, though the matchmaker in Mira hoped it was jealously that Natsu was with Lucy.

"Oi! Where's Bunny Girl?" Gajeel growled as he walked in, Jet and Droy behind him while Lily was perched on his shoulder, and Mirajane giggled.

"Special job request for Natsu and Gray, Master made her tag along with Erza and Wendy to make sure they didn't end up spending three days fighting." Gajeel scoffed and sat beside Laxus.

Mira's shipping senses began going haywire.

Love triangle!

Squares...octagon maybe?!

–

 **Remember that none of the girls are aware it was _confirmed_ that Lucy was now a matriarch of her own brood.**


	40. Change of Heart

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **CHANGE OF HEART**

The treasure hunters were better than she'd thought, but one was missing, and Wendy focused on her surroundings and heard the click of the gun. Her head lifted, eyes zeroing in on where the man hid in the trees, and his aim was for Lucy.

In that single second the Sky Dragon felt numerous thoughts pass through her mind, her instincts screaming at her to protect, and the girl felt a shift inside of her. This whole time she'd thought of Lucy as a female role model, calling her 'nee-san' and looking up to her, but in that single second that her life was in danger everything changed.

The instincts inside of her were roaring, coming to life with a fury that the Sky Dragon had never once felt before, and Wendy lunged at Lucy and knocked her out of the way.

"Watch out!" As she held the blond Wendy knew that Lucy's kindness and compassion had changed the dynamic of their group of dragons, Wendy was in love with the blond Celestial Mage in the same way that all six of the male slayers were.

The little dragon slayer wasn't blind, she could see it in their faces that they were in love, but the men were quite good at ignoring their desires and instincts. Wendy however was not, she tended to act on instinct more than anyone, on her heart more than the others, and she wouldn't hide her heart from Lucy.

So when they were were in danger, after Natsu and Gray had run off, Wendy was prepared to fight to show off for her chosen.

But things never did seem to go right for them ever.

Flare's arrival was unexpected, unwanted, but very well timed.


	41. Sky Dragon's Rage

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **SKY DRAGON'S RAGE**

The treasure hunters weren't _awful_ but it was annoying to hold back so much, they really didn't want to hurt them, but Wendy felt something course though her when that _bastard_ had the gall to say that all women were worth was shaking their ass.

His eyes were on Lucy, on her breasts to be exact, and Wendy took a deep breath and felt _power_ and _rage_ that she wasn't used to. "Wendy?" Lucy turned to look at her, surprise coloring the Celestial Mage's face, and Wendy could see pride.

"How _dare_ you talk like that while looking at Lucy. None of you are _man_ enough for someone as _amazing_ as her and I'm going to show you _why_." Wendy's voice was vicious, angry, and her hair went from midnight blue to pink as magic flared around her.

The roar she released was loud, dangerous, and the men were trembling as torrents of air began swirling around the young mage while white feathers formed off her ears and she let out a snarl.

Lucy's eyes widened as Wendy seemed to just _vanish_ and the screams of pain from the three treasure hunters were followed by the satisfying 'thunk' of their bodies hitting the ground.

"Sky Dragon's Wind Wave!" The large tornado of air engulfed the three males and sent them _flying_ , Wendy was growling as she waited for any chances of them showing up again and Lucy went over and wrapped her arms around the Sky Dragon.

"You're _amazing_ Wendy." Wendy smiled as she burrowed her nose into the junction of Lucy's neck and shoulder.

"Lucy...when this is over I want to tell you something." The blond blinked at the serious face she was getting but nodded.

"Okay."

 _It's rare for a matriarch to have another female in her brood...but it's happened before._

 **Yes I gave Wendy her Dragon Force and power up early and I will spoil that (because I can) Lucy will learn to Stardress early too. I don't intend to change TOO much of the Tartaros Arc but the changes I'm making won't have that big of an effect...or will they?**


	42. Owner of a Broken Heart

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **OWNER OF A BROKEN HEART**

The apartment was empty, save for the sleeping dragons, and Lucy closed her eyes as she turned to look at Crux and Horologium. The spirits were watching her very carefully.

"So that's why they're here...she knew I'd protect and guide them." Horologium nodded.

"Yes. Artemis Vermilion, the owner of my key at that time, asked me to save them in any way I could. So we chose a time that they could grow, be safe, and learn their magic, but they cannot remain here." The clock spirit watched his Princess as she stared at the sleeping dragons.

"With Tartaros making their move against the council...with missions pouring in...I can't keep an eye on them forever." Tears gathered in her chocolate pools as Lucy looked down at the small babies she'd come to love in only a little over a week.

"It feels like I've always had them with me, like they've been a part of my family for so much longer. Maybe it's because I'm friends with the slayers they came to raise...but I can't put their lives in danger." Lucy let out a soft sob.

 _What do I do? If I send them home now I may lose them for good...but they would be safer. Otherwise the spell will end on its own._

Lucy dismissed her spirits with a soft murmur of 'Give me time to think' before she looked up as Jet tossed her door open.

"Laxus was hurt!"

–

 **Tempesta best beware getting his day fucked up**


	43. Shatter

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 **SHATTER**

Her steps couldn't carry her fast enough, even Jet had been surprised at the speed she was running, and Lucy threw the door open to a room of angry faces. Laxus, Freed, Bickslow, Evergreen, and Yajima-san were all laying in the infirmary near death; Porlyusica and Wendy were doing what they could to save them, and Lucy's eyes focused on the blond dragon slayer.

The pain from what she'd learned was replaced with anger, a boiling rage, and that boiling rage showed on her face. Gajeel, Sting, Rogue, Natsu, and Wendy all lifted their gazes as she moved to stand over Laxus; her mouth curled into a snarl.

"I will _kill_ that _bastard_ for hurting _my_ Lightning Dragon."

Makarov's brows winged up in surprise, for Lucy to act this way touched the old man's heart to know that Laxus had someone who loved him so very much, and the man nodded.

"Tartaros will learn what happens when Fairy Tail is attacked, just as all our enemies in the past have learned, and this time there is nobody to stop or lessen our rage."

Lucy looked at the other slayers, who were watching her, and Natsu watched her face change.

"I'm going to train, I learned of a new magic I can do thanks to Loke and Crux's help, but I need to be alone to do this." Her fists clenched tightly as she made the vow in her mind.

 _I will be stronger to protect my slayers and I will be stronger so I can look at my dragons without being ashamed._

 ** _Another gift, for hitting a huge milestone for me, is that I've got over 10K views on this story! So I've decided to post TEN (yes I said ten) new chapters since I've got up to 70 written. Can't ya tell I'm having fun here?_**


	44. Only The Beginning

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **STRENGTH OF WILL**

Wendy was beginning to sweat as she concentrated more of her power into the jar before her, Erik had come back to Magnolia on his own and extracted the poison from them since it wouldn't have the same effect on him due to the lacrima, and now she had to find the stem cells within the poison cells and turn them into blood cells; her skin was getting more and more pale as she worked but Wendy vowed to have the five mages back up by the time Lucy got back.

Their matriarch had been working so hard to stay strong, for all of them, and even now she was probably out there pushing her body and magic to its limits in order to make sure that she could be more assistance. Wendy hated that Lucy saw herself as weak, the sky dragon slayer had always thought of the blond as one of the strongest female mages in the guild, but this was something that she couldn't stop Lucy from doing.

Apparently too the blond had something she had to tell them, about the baby dragons, but Erik had already done that after he was sure Lucy was gone. They were the very same dragons that had taught the slayers their magic and had been sent through time by Horologium's key holder back when Acnologia was slaughtering dragons to claim Kingship.

Artemis Vermilion had sent them to Lucy since she had seen that Lucy would love and care for the hatchlings but the spell had a limited time, soon they would be sent back as quickly as they arrived in order for the slayers to be taught by their dragons or receive their lacrima in the case of Erik and Laxus.

"Wendy you did it!" Her eyes dropped to the jar that had once held a sickly purple liquid, now there was a crimson substance that smelled of blood. Porlyusica began examining it to be sure and nodded after a moment before working on the cure.

–

 **Won't lie, got the idea for the cure from Eien ni Touko, her explanation made so much sense on making this work.**


	45. Closer to the Truth

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 **CLOSER TO THE TRUTH**

 _Her eyes were warm, a shade of soft brown, and her golden hair glowed like the sun. Her voice was soft, so very sweet, and her scent of brown sugar and citrus was inviting and calming._

 _He missed her, every day of his life, he loved his mother and would never forget the woman that had taken him in. 'Please don't forget me.' How could he? Crimson eyes closed and the imposing dragon lifted his head as an all too familiar smell caught on the wind._

 _He stretched his wings and flew, searching, only to see the young boy with wild hair and crimson eyes who was watching the sun in the sky. A flash, a memory, of a man with studs on his face and great magic formed over the boy's face. This was Gajeel, his slayer, this was the one his mother had told him to guide and teach._

 _Metalicana glowered at him, watching the boy's blank face, and when he got no reaction he knew that he had a lot of work to do. "You've got an ugly face, brat." He snorted, watching as anger made the boy flush, and when the kid stood up and yelled at him the dragon smirked. It was time to make Gajeel into the Alpha his mother needed when the time came._

He was always watching, he had little choice in the matter, but the dragon was biding his time as he waited for the time to come. Waited for the time for their release, his brothers and sister would be freed of their prisons and able to finally move on.

He held hope he'd get to see his Little Mother one last time.

 **Chose to do Metalicana for a bit of insight on why the dragons picked their slayers, plus I'm biased to Gajeel. Sorry everyone~**


	46. Encounter

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **ENCOUNTER**

The blond was ready to attack after watching Natsu go down, Wendy beside her, and the bastard Jakal used his explosions to blast away the Sky attacks. "So you use explosive spells..." Lucy's eyes narrowed.

"Virgo! Aries!" The two spirits appeared beside her and the Tartaros demon blinked at her in surprise. "Celestial Spirit magic? You're pretty interesting." A leer was shot her way and Lucy inwardly flinched.

It was a sharp growl from Wendy that answered his leer and Lucy turned to look at the sky dragon slayer. "Take care of Natsu, I've got this asshole." Jakal grinned. "Oh? You think you can play with me, girl?" His tail swayed as he watched her step forward.

"Virgo, Aries, anything he touches explodes." The spirits looked at her and nodded, watching as Lucy's hand went to fleuve d'étoiles, and the whip flared to life as the two female spirits moved beside her.

"I was told celestial spirit mages had gotten pretty pathetic, that at one time you guys were the strongest of magic users, so let's see how well you measure up Tits McGee." The blond's eyes darkened, almost turning black with rage, and her whip shot out.

The water was from the spirit world, resisting his explosion, and so Lucy added more power to her strikes. "Wool bomb!" The pink fluff exploded around Jakal and he purred as his face brushed the soft material. Anti magic cuffs closed around his wrist and Jackal shook his head.

"I don't use magic, Tits." He chided as his hands began to glow only to yelp as her fist smashed into his face, he glared at her as he spit out one of his now loose teeth.

"So you like it rough, huh?"

 _Shit!_


	47. Captured

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **CAPTURED**

Her eyes opened, she was in some kind of castle, and Lucy's eyes widened as she looked around. Her clothes had been changed and the chains on her wrist held her in place on a rather ornate crimson pillow.

"Oh? You're awake?" Jakal beamed at her, his tail swaying behind him, and the blond clenched her fists and prepared to swing if she had to. The morons hadn't thought to chain her ankles.

"Where am I?" Jakal laughed.

"You're in our guild base, Tits, and I'm glad you're here because you really are something fun. I got to dress you, ya know, that's why you're in my colors." The shirt was a black and gold top that was basically a bra, gold with black marks to match his own, and a green mini skirt that just barely covered her bottom.

"Y-you..." He laughed.

"Yep! I saw it all but I wasn't allowed to play." The blond felt her anger begin to swell, her heartbeat speeding up, and he laughed.

"You have the greatest reactions. Lamy was upset that she couldn't play with you either but it's because you're a celestial mage who isn't absolute shit. Too bad your keys got dropped."

"Jakal, I told you to leave." The man that entered the room smirked at her, his long hair tied back, and Lucy felt a shiver as his powers rose up.

"Alright, I got it." He was gone in a near instant and Lucy glowered at the male before her.

"Lucy Heartfilia, daughter of Jude Heartfilia and Layla Heartfilia, you are a _very_ interesting girl. You being here truly does complete the circle of events that are to come."

"What are you talking about?"


	48. Secrets Revealed

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **SECRETS REVEALED**

Mard Geer looked at the human girl before him, her brown eyes shining with curiosity and anger, he was overjoyed that there was no trace of fear. It was good to know that particular stubborn trait had not been lost through her bloodline.

"We were sealed after our first exposure to the human world, four hundred years ago, but I got the pleasure to meet a woman who...well she was certainly something. Stubborn, fierce, determined, and so very compassionate. Artemis Vermilion." He saw the recognition of the name in her eyes.

"She took something from us that day, sent our objectives far away so we couldn't complete our mission, and now I stand with her descendant wearing the same expression that she did when I killed her. Lucy Heartfilia, have you not wondered why celestial mages are nearly extinct? Why your spirits show more care for you than any other mage they've been bonded to?"

"They're my friends, that's why, and it doesn't matter what you say because _we_ will win this war! Fairy Tail, my nakama, we've faced dark times and come out alive. Even if I am the one to die...they will come." Mard Geer gave her a dark smirk.

"They already have. Now we're just waiting for them to find you." He sat on the throne beside her pillow and looked at her, clutching the book of E.N.D in his arms.

"What do you want by activating FACE? Is it because your curses aren't altered by any kind of anti-magic?" He glanced at her in surprise.

"Very good, pet, quite smart. Yes, when FACE detonates _all_ magic will be gone, including the black curse on Zeref, and we will be able to end his torment at last."


	49. One Hope

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **ONE HOPE**

"I found them, Mard Geer." The woman that entered had a helmet that covered most of her face, large furred ears from the side of her head, and her eyes reminded Lucy of Mirajane.

In her grip were seven very unconscious baby dragons.

"What did you do to them!? I'll fucking slaughter you!" Lucy's anger roared through her, the chains on her arms pulling as she aimed to punch the bitch for touching them.

"Artemis?" Kyouka asked in awe, dropping the dragons onto the ground, and Mard Geer laughed as he shook his head.

"No, her descendant, this is Lucy. I'll leave her in your care for a while, Kyouka, I want to kill the dragons before they vanish and if I do it in front of her...well it might break her far too early." The woman nodded, studying Lucy, and the blond felt that magic swelling within her.

The cuffs were the only thing stopping her from fighting back, her eyes blazing, and Lucy pulled her arms hard; her wrists snapped, her fingers dislocating in the process, but her hands began to glow.

"Open! Gate of the Clock!" The dragons were inside of Horologium's body as he appeared. "Send them back!" The clock had told her that sending them back before the spell faded on its own could change the outcome of the battle in the past but there was no chance. Lucy would not let her dragons die here.

"Please don't forget me!" She shouted to them, watching their bodies writhe as they fought to escape, and a flash of white signaled the spell ending before the dragons were gone.

"You. Little. Pest!" Mard Geer lunged, Kyouka joining him, and Lucy's eyes burned with rage.


	50. In Between

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **IN BETWEEN**

One moment she was glaring at the demon, Mard Geer, and the next she was floating in what felt like a big fat world of nothing. Lucy looked around, the light was blinding, even though she wasn't even sure if it was light, and a giggle sounded before a young woman appeared before her.

The two could have been twins, really, save for the other girl having X shaped scars on both eyes; it was obvious by the glassy brown pools she was blind.

"Do you know who I am, Lucy?" It only took a moment for the answer to click and the Fairy Tail mage gasped. "Artemis." The blind woman nodded and Lucy gasped as grass suddenly appeared under her feet and a blood red sky above her head.

"Sorry, needed some semblance of reality and this is the last thing I remember seeing before I was blinded, anyway...yes I'm Artemis Vermilion. I had Horologium seal your mind when the backlash happened from you ending the spell early." Lucy blinked and Artemis chuckled.

"By ending it early you sent the dragons back in time to save my life, Mard Geer had just been sealed and I was dying, Grandine healed me because she could tell you and I were related. I took over raising your dragons so that they could still raise your slayers with the same affection for humans." Lucy felt tears gather in her eyes.

"Don't cry, they still only see _you_ as their mother, I'm just the imposter." Artemis gave a soft giggle. "My daughter loves them, though, so thank you for giving her something to enjoy about life again." Lucy nodded slowly and sighed.

"So I'm stuck here? Or…?" Artemis snorted.

"I'm doing you a...favor...solid? Whatever you want to call it."

Lucy blinked.


	51. Not so Lonely Lucy Heartfilia

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **NOT SO LONELY LUCY HEARTFILIA**

 _'Since I just passed I've gone ahead and merged my magic, my spirit, with yours. It means, firstly, that you'll get one hell of a power boost when you return to your body. But this allows me to choose what age your mind returns to so you can begin gathering your brood again.'_

Lucy blinked as she stared in the mirror, she was five, her short blond hair and childish body had nothing on the fact that she was once again in the manor. The biggest thing was though that her mother had passed her keys onto her already, to Layla the little girl had gone through a massive increase in power and so she'd passed her spirits on early so that Lucy could train with them.

The spirits, though, had also been immune to the time-space magic because of both Horologium and the Celestial Spirit King. But the little girl had a job to do, she needed to make an early impression on her slayers before the dragons vanished again so they came to find her.

 _This time I'll make things right._

Her resolve was nearly broken a week later, her parents had been on a business meeting in Clover and the train carrying them home was destroyed in a dark guild's attack, there had been no survivors. Lucy had spent a whole week crying, sobbing at how unfair it was, and her spirits had offered her comfort.

Now her old memories were beginning to blur as the new ones took form, replacing the past she'd once known, and Lucy wiped her eyes as she felt a comforting brush of something against her heart.

 _Hello? Is anyone there?_ A boy's voice.

 _Y-yes, my name is Lucy. What's yours?_ She felt his heartbeat stutter.

 _I'm Erik._


	52. Unexpected Encounter

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **UNEXPECTED ENCOUNTER**

Lucy was running, her small legs carrying her as fast as they could, she had to find him. Erik was still in the Tower, Jellal hadn't gotten possessed yet, and Erza was still there. The blond had already stopped by any magic shop on the way and gotten a whole new array of silver keys, including the Chisel key because Caelum was versatile as hell and hers looked like it was made out of Gajeel's iron, and now she had to prepare to fight.

The men weren't mages, they used lacrima weapons, and with her own power and Artemis' power merged as one Lucy was freakishly strong for her age. At the moment she rivaled Erza when the redhead had first awakened her powers but that was because Lucy's own personal power had been cut back to match her age and her second origin had been resealed.

Meditating with Capricorn though was helping her grow her magic much faster than she'd imagined. "Little miss where are you off to?" The child looked up to see a man with shaggy auburn hair and dark eyes. Gildarts.

"I have to save my friend Erik! He's stuck on some tower out in the ocean with a bunch of other kids, they're slaves." Lucy didn't even chance to stop, if she didn't get a way out there then he'd get taken by Brain and Jellal would be possessed. "Where is this tower exactly?" Gildarts had yoked her up by the back of her shirt and Lucy glared.

"I don't know the coordinates, just a general idea, but I've gotta try." Gildarts looked at the little blond and sighed, she was just a kid and she had one hell of an imagination. That was without a doubt.

"I'll help."


	53. The Shining Tower

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **THE SHINING TOWER**

There it was, the grungy and destroyed tower, but Lucy knew better. Under that disgusting rock and metal and dirt was lacrima crystals, shining and glowing crystals that would absorb whatever magic was charged into them.

"So you weren't lying." Gildarts commented as he looked down at the girl, they'd gotten a lacrima powered boat (he had nearly choked when she pulled out a huge wad of money) and now were facing the tower she'd spoken of.

There were men on the shore and they didn't look friendly. "How do we get in?" Lucy steered the boat around the side and hid it behind a bunch of rocks. "There's a pool of water that leads us under the tower." Lucy explained before grinning.

"Aquarius." The mermaid spirit huffed as she appeared, encasing the pair in a bubble of hair before swimming with them under the tower, and Gildarts glanced at the small girl. This one was strong, she had potential to be extremely powerful, and he knew he'd be dragging her back to the Master when this was done. Her and her friend.

"Wait, where is your family?" He watched her eyes darken.

"Dead. A dark guild took out the train they were on." He sighed and patted her head.

"My bad, kid, but you can always make another one." Lucy nodded.

"I know." They surfaced and Lucy looked up to the trap door.

"That's not very reassuring." Gildarts murmured, if they went up then they'd be seen, and Lucy grabbed another key.

"Chamo Chamo, I need your help." The girl whispered and the humanoid chameleon appeared in a soft glow of gold before Gildarts realized that he was invisible.

"We're invisible and we can phase through the trap door." He glanced at her in awe.

Definitely Fairy Tail material.


	54. Freedom Comes

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 **FREEDOM COMES**

The medics of each cell block were in line, getting their supplies, when a huge explosion rocked the foundation of the tower. The guards all tensed and Erik's eyes widened, he could feel her, and Jellal noticed his friend's smile.

"She's here, Lucy found us, we're saved." The boy whispered, almost reverently, and Jellal could that something big was happening as the guards headed toward the bottom levels.

The heavy steel door exploded off its hinges, sending the guards that had been running to it onto their asses, and more slaves came through wielding weapons. "We're free, everyone, we've got help. Grab a weapon and help us fight back!" The room of slaves stared for only a moment before launching into action, grabbing anything they could use to fight, and Erik grinned at Jellal.

 _Erik! I'm here!_ Her voice was so sweet to him.

 _I know! I'll find you!_ He felt Cubelios shift in his shirt and grabbed his friends from their cell block, telling them of their freedom, and he ended up getting an eye wound when he was protecting Sorano.

A loud blast rocked the tower once again and he met up with Jellal and his cell block, the blue haired boy immediately using an ointment on Erik's eye, and they were cornered when a beam of pink energy shot out and sent the guards flying.

"You guys alright?" The blond girl was no older than any of them but she wasn't a slave, she had good clothes and bright eyes.

"Lucy?" Erik ventured and she grinned.

"Yep." The girl turned quick and snatched a whip off the floor, when one guard tried to grab her, and her arm extended as she snatched the blade out of his hand and took it. She tossed it to Erza and winked.


	55. Guiding Light Home

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 **GUIDING LIGHT HOME**

Lucy had become friends with all the kids right away, Erik was a little jealous but he wouldn't tell any of them that, and now they were leaving the destroyed tower and headed back to the continent. He glanced down at the girl holding his hand, her eyes gleaming, and squeezed her hand a little tighter.

"Lucy...how did you even find us?" Sorano asked softly, grinning at her new friend, and the blond giggled.

"Erik told me. We have a...Soul Link I think it is. It allowed him to talk to me." Gildarts studied her, the girl looked five but certainly didn't act five, there was far more to this child than just a metric fuck ton of magic power and a kind heart. He couldn't let her potential be wasted though, all of the kids had proven to be quite strong with their raw magic.

Erza had awoken hers when Rob, may he forever rest peacefully, had sacrificed himself to save her and Jellal. The redhead was terrifying with swords and blades spinning around her, really, and her lack of an eye didn't help. But Porlyusica would fix that, bitch about it the whole time too, and the Crash Mage took the chance to study the blond again.

The child was like a light in the dark for these kids, she had saved them all, and he knew that she would never be without friends wherever she walked. Even he was a little bit attached to her already.

"Where are we going?" Lucy asked, looking at Gildarts, and he snorted.

"Home." Lucy's gaze lowered.

"I don't have one." She answered, thinking of her parents, and Gildarts chuckled.

"Yes you do. Fairy Tail, my home, will become the home to anyone who needs one."

* * *

 **Alright so I just kinda said 'screw my normal update schedule' and I've decided to just post two a day minimum but if I feel like putting more chapters out I will. My Doc Manager is a mess as it is, so many chapters .**


	56. Fate's Twist

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **FATE'S TWIST**

Lucy sighed, all the kids from the Tower of Heaven were being treated and talked to by the council, Erik was keeping her posted on how the others were doing, and then everything had just stopped. He wasn't talking, when she tried reaching out to him there was nothing, and she was still walking behind Gildarts to Fairy Tail.

"You're quiet, Lucy, something wrong?" The man asked as he slowed his steps to walk beside her.

"Erik's been quiet, I haven't heard from him in two days." Gildarts hummed.

"The council might have found the Soul Link, they probably blocked it so he didn't tell anyone about the process since they're stuffy bastards." The blond sighed and nodded gently.

 _Lucy? I'm coming home._

Her shoulders straightened and Gildarts laughed.

"What did he say?" The man asked, knowing the blond girl was attached to the boy.

"He's coming home." Gildarts ruffled her hair, having adopted the girl like she was his own, and Lucy gave him a pout as she fixed her hair and looked up at the large wooden doors.

Laxus was probably inside, right? He had his lacrima, meaning Ampere was merged with him? Gildarts pushed the door open to a scene Lucy never wanted to ever see again, Laxus was on the ground wiping blood from his mouth while a man towered over him. Ivan.

"Ivan! You're taking this too-" Makarov was interrupted by a blast of magic heading for Laxus, from Ivan, and then something got in the way.

The armored knight held its shield in place and glowered at Ivan before a small blond girl scampered over to Laxus.

"Who the hell are you, kid?" Ivan demanded.


	57. His Light

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 **HIS LIGHT**

Lucy didn't bother give the man an answer, checking on Laxus' as he looked up at her, the older boy was in a crouch and holding his ribs while a small trail of blood dripped down his chin.

"Are you alright?" She asked gently, brushing the tuft of hair that dropped down aside to examine a small cut, and he nodded mutely before his eyes widened. Lucy felt Scutum's gate close, rather abruptly, and turned as a swam of papers flew toward her and Laxus.

A strange feeling coursed through her, like a humming, and a bright flash filled her vision. When the light slowly faded she realized Laxus had used his lightning form to get her out of harm's way and now the lighting dragon slayer was snarling at his father.

"Ivan!" Makarov roared, his voice carrying loudly, and all noise ceased as the dark haired man looked at his father. "Tch. I hear ya, old man, I'm leaving." He turned to walk away but Lucy saw it, the flicker, this was a thought projection. "Caelum!" The spirit appeared beside her, in cannon form, and shot a pink blast at the left side of the room; Ivan flinched as he dodged the blow.

"Oh? So the girl isn't a total moron, there might be hope for today's mages after all." Ivan laughed and Lucy heard Gildarts call her name before she felt the magic forming behind her. Lightning flared up around her as two strong arms pulled her close, a blast of lightning shooting over her head, and she was stuck in slight surprise.

Laxus had lost it, his muscles far larger and she could tell if she looked up his eyes would be fully white, he'd activated the magic in the dragon lacrima and even Makarov looked a little scared.

 _I'll murder anyone who tries to harm my Starlight_

* * *

 **Yes Laxus. Protect Chibi Lucy and be awesome~**


	58. Star Bright

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 **STAR BRIGHT**

Fairy Tail had grown, exponentially, when the kids from the Tower of Heaven were told they were free to go. Erik, Sorano, Macbeth, Erza, and Jellal had all come to Fairy Tail; Sho, Sawyer, and Wally were headed to Quatro Cerberus after Goldmine ran into them in the council building and took a shine to them. Simon was off to Mermaid Heel with Millianna so he could find Kagura, the cat loving girl had wanted to find a place of her own rather than clinging to Erza.

Lucy and Erik had become even closer friends, turns out one of the jerks at the council building had implanted a lacrima into Erik when he was done being questioned, the two days she hadn't been able to talk to him was his magic settling.

"Blondie." Laxus sat down beside her, sound pods on his ears, and Erik glanced at the blond teen as she read her book. Since the boy was a Soul Listening Mage he'd _heard_ what Lucy had been through, when she was dreaming, and he knew that he had to deal with the fact that there were seven people other than himself that needed her just as badly.

"You're one of the new kids." Laxus commented, earning a nod, and Erik smirked. "The name is Erik, I use Poison Dragon Slayer magic, I'm a second gen slayer like you." Laxus blinked and smirked. "You need training through." Erik nodded and Laxus reached a hand out, the boy clapped hands with him.

"I'll teach you but only because you're Lucy's friend." Erik gave a sharp nod.

"Starlight is pretty special, huh?" Laxus blinked and smiled. Starlight, a good name, better than Blondie.

"She is." His eyes softened and from across the room Makarov couldn't help but shake his head.

* * *

 **Oh yes, you will get along and be friends because Lucy will rage if you're anything less~**


	59. Years (Omake)

_Doing another omake chapter to celebrate over 15K views~ Woot, you guys are awesome! This one is obviously about what happens between her joining Fairy Tail at age 5 and meeting Natsu at age 10._

 **Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

* * *

 **YEAR ONE: X772**

Lucy yawned in boredom as she leaned on the counter top, looking at the calendar. It was a cool May morning, year X772, and she kept sneaking glances at Cana. The brunette was a year older and had just joined, Lucy had caught her looking at Gildarts all the time but never did she ever go near him, and the blond girl sighed before jumping from her seat at the bar and walking over.

Erik was training with Laxus, Levy was reading books about her script magic, and Lucy had nothing to do. Without Natsu and Gray brawling this place was _boring_ and she really hated it. "Hi Cana." She chirped, sitting down beside the girl, and the purple eyed female jumped a little. "H-hi Lucy." The brunette was rather shy and Lucy didn't really understand why.

Cana shuffled her cards and Lucy grinned. "Oh! Are you a fortune teller?" Lucy asked with a smile, trying not to be all weird with the 'I know more about you than you think' vibe. "Yea. I'm learning Card Magic but it's kind of hard." The blond offered a beaming smile. "Do you meditate? If you do it'll help you grow your magic a bit, that could be your problem." Lucy offered with a smile.

"Meditate? No, I never learned how, do you?" Lucy nodded happily. "Yep! Every day, in fact I should probably start working on that now, would you like to join me?" Cana blushed and nodded. "S-sure, if you're okay with it." Lucy nodded eagerly. "Of course! I always have a group when I do. Sorano, Levy, Erza! It's time to meditate." The trio of girls all looked up and nodded, Levy closing her book while Sorano jumped up and skipped over.

Since the former girl hadn't met Brain she hadn't become a Celestial Spirit Mage, instead Sorano had channeled her holder type magic into a new path; Sorano was now a user of crystal magic, she had a charm bracelet with different colored crystals on it, each charm used a different use depending on the stone. Diamond for a shield and blade, turquoise for the ability to swim faster and breath under water, topaz to withstand extreme heat, ruby for fire magic, rose quartz for sleep spells, and many other options. So naturally the girl was going to every jewelry shop she could.

The group of girls headed out to the back of the guild, finding a nice spot in the sun and sitting down, and Capricorn appeared with a flash and began guiding them into a meditative state. Lucy's mind was so relaxed that it allowed her to think about what was going to happen in the course of the next few years, what she had to change and who she had to find. Natsu and Gajeel were training with their dragons, Wendy had just recently been born as had Sting and Rogue. The blond felt a small touch of someone's mind brushing hers, the Soul Link, and heard Erik's voice reassure her that things would work out.

It was nearly an hour later when the girls were told to stop, sitting up, and Cana glanced at the blond. "Hey Lucy?" Said girl looked over to her new friend. "Hm?" Cana twiddled her fingers nervously. "You're close with Gildarts...right?" Lucy blinked and nodded. "Kind of? He helped me save Erik from the Tower of Heaven, Erza too, found me running in Hargeon and brought me back when he realized I was an orphan." Erza nodded, her new eye matching the other perfectly and gleamed with the same light.

"Lucy and Gildarts were amazing that day, he was a force to be reckoned with as he destroyed the structure of the tower while Lucy led the rebellion. If it weren't for them then hundreds more people would have been tortured senselessly." Lucy blushed. "It's not all that..." Erza nodded with a great amount of pride. "Yes, it is, you saved my life and the life of my friends. I actually thought Gildarts was your dad though, he's very protective of you." Lucy shrugged.

"I don't know why, I'm not that special, but I'm happy. I lost my papa and mama only a few months ago but...I know they want me to be happy so that's what I'm doing, plus Erik _needed_ me to come save him. Gildarts is...well he's the closest thing to a dad that I've got." The blond confessed. "W-well...actually...about that. He's...he really is _my_ father but...I don't know how to..." Lucy held Cana's hands in hers and smiled. "All you have to do is say it, Cana, and we'll be there for you." Lucy assured the brunette.

"What do you mean? It's not like I can just waltz up to him and say 'Gildarts, you're my father. I'm Cornelia's daughter and she passed away so I joined Fairy Tail to be with you.' I'd look like a-" Cana froze as she noticed the look of horror on Lucy's face, matching that of Levy and Erza, and the brunette slowly turned around. Gildarts was standing there, eyes wide, and tears formed in his eyes.

"C-cana..." Her eyes widened before he pulled her into his arms. "I thought I knew you, Cana you're the spitting image of your mother, don't worry I'll be there for you." He wailed into her small shoulder, making the girl uncomfortable, and the rest of the girls could only laugh as she growled. "Oi! Old man, put me down, I don't want to be coddled or something! I just wanted to tell you who I am!" Lucy laughed merrily.

–

One month, it had been a month since Gildarts had learned Cana was his daughter, and the brunette was fleeing from him whenever he tried to greet her. It was Father's Day, making Lucy feel pretty sad considering that even in this time she'd never been able to resolve her issues with her father, and Cana poked her father and pointed to the little blond girl. Laxus was avoiding the guild hall, considering Ivan had been recently excommunicated and the preteen was pretty moody, and Erik was on a job with Sorano and Macbeth. Gildarts studied Lucy and walked over.

"Come on, North Star, let's go." He picked the girl by the back of her shirt and Cana followed him. "Gildarts what are you doing?" The girl pouted. "Celebrating Father's Day with my girls." He replied with a grin, watching as understanding showed on Lucy's face, and she broke into a light smile. "Okay." Lucy smiled as Gildarts set her down and each girl held one of his hands, and the blond smiled happily as they ended up spending the day together.

Gildarts stared up at the stars, laying on his back while Cana curled on his left side and Lucy on his right, and both girls were sleeping soundly as he had his arms tucked behind his head. He glanced down at both of them, smiling slightly, and his eyes softened as he shifted to pick them up and take them back to his place for the night. Gildarts set them down in the bed he'd gotten for Cana when she stayed over, watching them curl against each other, and he grabbed his communications lacrima.

"Gildarts? Whatever are you calling me for this late?" Yajima wiped his eyes of sleep and the Crash Mage chuckled. "Sorry, Yajima-san, but I had a question. Has anyone handled the papers for Lucy Heartfilia yet? I know Master told you guys she joined Fairy Tail." Yajima chuckled. "Yes and I asked if he was sure that he wanted a five-year-old who was willing to charge a tower with just one other person. Of course Maky said that she was a Fairy Tail mage through and through." The two men shared a laugh. "To answer your question it's in the process now but nobody that her parents listed are stepping up to take her in. Duke Junelle wants nothing to do with her since the estate funds went to the council." Gildarts frowned.

"I shouldn't be telling you this but the girl spent an entire week neglecting her body, crying by their graves, and was in the hospital for most of the legal proceedings." Gildarts glanced at the blond as she cuddled close to Cana. "I want to adopt her, Yajima-san." The old man blinked in alarm and Gildarts showed him the sleeping girls. "That's Cana, she's my daughter with Cornelia, and she just joined Fairy Tail recently to find me." Yajima's eyes softened and he chuckled. "You'll need to come sign papers, you know." Gildarts nodded and yawned. "I'll be there in the next few days, Yajima-san." The old man nodded, wishing him good evening, and Gildarts climbed into his bed.

When he woke up he was smiling since Lucy and Cana had crawled into his bed with him, snoring softly, but the Crash Mage was gentle in moving them and cooking breakfast. It was simple, grilled fish since he wasn't fantastic in the kitchen, but when Lucy and Cana woke up they were happy. He informed them that he'd be gone for a few days and promised they'd go on a job together when he got back. Three days later he held the paperwork naming him as Lucy's new father and as he stepped into the guild hall the Crash Mage grinned at the sight of the two girls laughing over something. "Cana! Lucy! Come give Daddy a hug!" He called, watching them turn their gazes to him, and he grinned as they ran to him. Lucy studied the papers, as he handed them to her, and a bright smile formed on her face.

* * *

 **YEAR TWO: X773**

The blond frowned, it was her sixth birthday and the guild was making a huge deal about it, her eyes strayed to where Laxus had strung up lightning lacrima that twinkled like stars and Erik was standing by a huge pile of presents with Cana and Levy. Enno had made her a cake, a huge one, and Erza was drooling at said cake. "What is all this?" Lucy asked cautiously. "Happy Birthday Lucy!" The group shouted together, Wakaba and Macao popping off sparklers, and the blond smiled fondly. "Thanks, everyone." In the year that she'd been a part of Gildarts and Cana's family she hadn't been happier, her training was coming along nicely too, and the blond was _excited_ about the fact that she could be an S-Class candidate finally.

The party was a huge thing, Makarov even had Yajima come since the old man had helped handle her adoption, and the blond girl was delighted as she received a lot of humble and homemade presents. Levy had given her a pair of pink Gale Force Glasses with stars on the corners and temples, Erik had gotten her a new set of hair ribbons, Laxus had bought her an anti-theft belt for her keys and whip, and Makarov had gotten her a small communication lacrima; Gildarts and Cana had gotten her clothes, Sorano had gotten her a gorgeous charm bracelet with zodiac symbol charms, and Erza had gotten her a sword. Reedus had painted her a portrait of the whole of Fairy Tail, her favorite gift by far, and the kids ate cake until they wanted to hurl while the adults drank and sang out of tune music.

–

Chocolate eyes stared in mild disbelief, unable to stop the shock on her face as she glanced at Erik beside her; the men they were facing, members of Zaxsa, were rather odd looking and had a strange tick where they constantly looked around. "What did you say?" Erik growled, more angry than surprised, and the men laughed. "We said that the little blond is gonna be our servant now." They repeated, seeming not to notice the anger swirling around Erik, and the poison dragon slayer let out a sound of rage as his arms became coated in scales and his hands became like those of a dragon.

"H-hey...Marx do you s-see that?" The male on the left was trembling. "Yea, moron, but he's just a kid!" The man on the right lunged, he was a speed mage it seemed, and Lucy blinked as Erik breathed out a puff of dark red poison before magic flared around them; Erik let out a loud snarl before turning around and grabbing her, burying her face into his shirt, and she felt his chest rumble before he obviously let out a roar. The men were screaming, choking, and she felt Erik pick her up and jump away from the area; when he let her see what happened she saw the men breathing heavy, their eyes hazy, and she knew they were dying. "Sorry." He murmured beside her. "Why?" She asked softly, having known his magic was deadly, and he looked away.

"I don't want you scared of me..." She shook her head and took his hand. "Never. It's not like they aren't close enough to the village to be found in time anyway." Erik shrugged and Lucy grabbed his hand before tugging him along, the men had planned to kidnap her after all and Erik was just protecting her, it didn't help either that those two men were responsible for the kidnapping of the girls from the village. Seeing as she had her old memories Lucy wasn't too traumatized by the sight of death any longer, at least by the slayers considering she'd seen them go insane with anger before, and as she led Erik to the temple the dark guild was keeping the girls in Lucy held his hand tightly. "We're mages...there are going to be times we'll have to make a choice about other people. We might have to kill them to save ourselves or other people." Lucy reminded him, making him nod, and he ran his thumb along the back of her hand. "I won't let you get hurt, Starlight." He vowed.

–

Captain Phoebus, of the Council's Rune Knights, looked at the two kids before him; one was a survivor of the Tower of Heaven and the other was the former heir of the late Heartfilia estate. The pair were Fairy Tail mages, powerful mages, and one had been given an illegal lacrima by Brain before he defected from the council forces; Phoebus sighed as he ran his hand through his hair. "So the men were keeping the girls in the old temple and the pair of you, two six-year-old kids, went in and saved them all?" The pair nodded and Lucy's feet kicked idly. "Makarov either trusts your strength implicitly or is finally going senile." The man breathed out. "Well Erik uses Poison Dragon Slayer Magic, it was easy for him to take the men out, and I use Celestial Spirit Magic. With Chamo Chamo, the gate of the Chaemeleon, I was able to make the girls invisible and able to phase through the walls and stuff." Lucy explained softly, her brown eyes gentle and understanding.

Phoebus had them sign the official papers, considering it _was_ part of the job to take out the men responsible for taking the girls, and decided he was going to put them through a year of psychological analysis to make sure that he wasn't dealing with a pair of sociopaths.

–

Chocolate met green as Doctor Lirabelle Adams greeted the little blond, Lucy Heartfilia, and the girl returned her greeting with a smile. The doctor was a little worried, this was not the worried face of a five year old child who had helped _kill_ more than ten people, wondering if Lucy was indeed a sociopath. "Lucy I just wanted to ask you some questions." The little girl nodded, swinging her feet almost lazily. "How long ago did your parents pass?" The blond sighed. "A year, they were on a business trip and some guild took out the train they were on, but I go visit the grave site every three months with Gildarts and Cana." Lirabelle could _see_ the sadness in her eyes, either the girl was a good actress or it was sincere, and the psychologist nodded.

"Are you afraid of dying?" Lucy looked almost alarmed by the question before she seemed to grow serious, her face shutting down, and Lirabelle was rather impressed. The blond girl was impeccable at controlling her expressions, at hiding her real feelings behind a smile that looked so sincere, and the doctor knew that the blond wasn't a sociopath in the sense that she chanced becoming a mass murderer or assassin. "Yes, but who isn't? What I'm worried about is not being able to help anyone, of dying in vain, that's what scares me about death." Lirabelle scribbled a few notes on her paper and blinked slowly.

The doctor asked a few more things, such as how she felt about her spirits and her guild, scribbling things down on her notepad as she went; Lucy answered, some automatic and others requiring thought, but her answers were not those of a normal six-year-old child. Then again so much had happened to her, considering the loss of both parents at once and then being Soul Linked to someone far away, no doubt she had been told about the conditions of living as a slave in the Tower of Heaven. But in a sense Lucy was not insane, mature as all hell, certainly not someone to be worried about; her sense of justice wasn't skewed, her sense of valor was firm in that she would help those in need who couldn't help themselves, and even her spirits confessed that Lucy wasn't anyone to worry about and that they loved being her friends.

Doctor Lirabelle Adams submitted her preliminary analysis of the girl to Phoebus, smirking as the Captain deemed the girl as passed and took away the need for a year of continual visits, and then she headed for the doorway. A cruel smirk showed on her face when she knew she was alone, her eyes straying down to the picture of Lucy's keys, the Doctor laughed lightly. "Oh Lucy...those lovely spirits of yours are going to be mine. But how to get you arrested...I wonder..." A set up would be best but what Lirabelle hadn't known was that Yajima and Michello had been just around the hall.

–

Makarov sighed as Yajima's face faded from the device, his eyes dark with worry as he thought of Lucy suffering because of Lirabelle, and he knew that they would just have to be sure Lucy was with a strong team when she went on jobs. He glanced at the roster of mages, he needed to make a team around Lucy, and so he sighed as he regarded who to send. Erik, Laxus, Lucy, and Erza; he made the team official, Team Elle, and called the kids up to tell them about their new status as an official team of Fairy Tail.

* * *

 **YEAR THREE: X774**

They had just gotten back from a job, Team Elle that is, when Lucy saw a familiar face; her eyes widened at the sight of Gray Fullbuster sitting at a table with Cana and Sorano, the latter was giggling at something he said while the former was rolling her eyes in annoyance. "Gray, your clothes." Cana commented, bummed out since Gildarts was still MIA despite having been the one to send Gray to Fairy Tail, and Lucy waved. "Cana-nee, Sora-chan, I'm home!" She called, earning the attention of the girls, and both females ditched Gray to run to her. "Lucy!" They hugged her and the blond stuck her tongue out playfully at the boy as he stared at her.

"O-oi!" He jumped up and Lucy's eyes widened. "Kya! Your clothes!" She shouted, covering her face, and Laxus' snarl sounded before she heard Gray shout in pain and call for mercy. "He's clothed." Erik commented, annoyed, and Lucy huffed in annoyance as she opened her eyes, the poison dragon slayer had a feeling this kid was going to be a problem.

–

Pain lanced across her back, Lucy's small body trembling as she held in her desire to sob, and the blond heard Lirabelle laugh before the harsh blow from the spike tipped cat o' nine tails rained down on the blonde's back. Lucy had been summoned to the council to fill out paperwork, Master Makarov had been talking with Yajima-san and Michello while Lucy had waited for him, and there had been a strange distortion in the hallway before the blond had been knocked unconscious. When she's woken up she was in a room somewhere, in the dark, and Lirabelle had been waiting for her to wake up.

"I was going to have you arrested, silly girl, but I decided that I'd kill you instead." The woman had taunted, giving Lucy the chance to end her contracts, but the small girl knew that they would find her. Space-Time magic wasn't hard to track, especially in a building where _all_ magic use was monitored and logged, so the girl had chosen to take the beating she knew she was going to get. "Are you spacing out on me?" Lirabelle grabbed Lucy by the hair and grinned. "Let's see...I'll call...Gemini." The twin spirits appeared and their little faces fell onto Lucy's now bleeding back, anger showing if you knew how to look for it, and the blond looked up at them with a sad smile.

The Celestial Spirit King and Horologium had protected her spirits' memories from the time shift, they all remembered her, and she knew they were waiting on her to find them. "You called, Mistress?" The pair greeted, almost robotic, and tears formed in Lucy's eyes. "Yes. Transform into her and tell me who is the most important person to her, then I want you to transform into them for me." Lucy's eyes widened. "You...you're going to _torture_ Gemini? Your own spirit? How _dare_ you!" Lucy's eyes burned with rage, wondering if this woman did that to every one of her victims, and Lirabelle laughed. "They know to expect it. Now, Gemini-" The twins shook their heads. "No." They answered, closing their own gate, and Lirabelle snarled as she went to re-summon them.

Instead Loke appeared, as Leo, and his eyes fell on Lucy. "How _dare_ you, Lirabelle!" He snarled. "I warned you when you tortured Gemini the last time...and now you're doing this to a child?! To Lucy?!" His body began to glow and the blond closed her eyes tightly, knowing how dangerous Loke was when he was _pissed_ and then the door practically exploded. Lightning filled the room, as did light, and the blond felt the static energy. "You _bitch_!" Laxus' voice filled her ears and the child whimpered as she heard Lirabelle start to scream, the screams were choked off and became a strange gurgling sound, and as Lucy looked up her eyes widened. The woman was in Laxus' hold, his body sparking and his eyes fully white while his arms were scales, and he was electrocuting her; blood and saliva bubbled out of her mouth, her ears bleeding and the blood vessels in her eyes popped.

"Close your eyes, Lucy." Michello whispered as he helped Makarov undo her bonds, her small body trembling as she buried her face into Makarov's shirt as he stroked her hair, and the older men watched Lirabelle's corpse slump to the ground as Laxus snarled. Lightning danced off his form, the static making the room dangerous, and Michello sighed. "We're going to have to take her to the infirmary...get your grandson under control." Makarov looked at the boy. "L-laxus..." The small voice of Lucy reached out, making the boy whip around, and the stormy blue of his irises became visible again as his pupils remained slit like a dragon, Michello knew the boy was just like Erik since Ivan had stolen a dragon lacrima from the council years before.

"Starlight...Lucy..." Laxus' eyes focused again, a burning shame filling his eyes for his loss of control, and Michello sighed. "Take Lirabelle's gate keys, any of her spirits that want contracts with the girl will be hers." Loke walked over, glancing at the lightning dragon slayer, and grabbed the keyring. Aries, Gemini, and Scorpio would be glad that they had Lucy again; Sagittarius was still waiting on Galuna Island but Lucy would get him eventually, for now she just had to worry about gathering the dragons.

"All of us do, Councilman Michello, we've heard nothing but good stories about her from the spirits she already owns. In fact the entire zodiac want to work with her, which is something considering not many of them are willing to have a Master after their last for forays into the human world." He explained, handing the keys to Makarov, and Michello called in Rune Knights to handle the clean up while they led Lucy to the infirmary with Laxus.

–

Gildarts was holding her close, the blond had finally broken from the stress of what information she carried and the changes that were happening, Lirabelle's torture ( _she'd evidently been missing for six hours before they found her and her back was covered in lash scars while her wrists were bruised badly from the shackles_ ) wasn't anything like Minerva's had been but the blond would never forget her dying face. It didn't help that Laxus was avoiding her, ashamed for murdering someone, and all Lucy wanted was for him to hold her and reassure her that he would never let her get hurt again. Lucy wasn't mad or afraid of him for killing Lirabelle, while his method was extreme she couldn't deny that he had done it to _save_ her, but she was worried that he'd pull away from her.

"Lucy..." Gildarts could hardly believe what the blond girl had confessed to him, about how she had memories of another time-line that she'd altered in ending a spell that had sent her baby dragons. He'd been patient, she'd cried a lot, but it made sense that she was so mature for her age because of the fact that she was mentally in her late teens and had been through so much. "Lucy, look at me." Gildarts didn't regret adopting or meeting her, in fact it was her in the other time-line that made Cana confess that she was his child, it seemed he owed a lot to her in either case and he was making it up to her by giving her a real family. Her eyes raised to his face. "Laxus...he's upset and he thinks your terrified of him. We'll make sure he knows you only want him not to push away." Lucy nodded and curled in bed, with her back healing up still she was confined to her bed, and he glanced over at Erik.

"You take a nap, Lucy, we'll go talk to Laxus." Erik assured her, making her nod, and the duo left the house; Gildarts had ended up taking Erik in, seeing as the boys dorm was being shut down after Erik lost his cool one night and nearly poisoned Gray, and the duo headed for the training grounds. They found Laxus beating up a very badly put back together dummy. "Oi! Static, we gotta talk." Gildarts snapped, more angry that his daughter was suffering because Laxus was being pig headed, and the boy looked over at him. Despite only being fourteen the boy was tall, lean muscle slowly developing to a more build form the more he worked out, and he had a ferocious look about him right now. "What do you want, old man?" Laxus snapped, seeing Erik leaning on the door with his arms crossed, and Gildarts stood across from Laxus.

"It's about Lucy." Anguish formed on the lightning dragon slayer's face, an agony that Gildarts had never seen, and Laxus kicked the ground. "I'm already backing of-" Gildarts yoked him up by the collar. "Laxus, shut the hell up because I'm only going to say this once. My daughter _isn't_ terrified of you and she has no reason to be. You _lost it_ to _protect_ her, you were angry that someone hurt her and so you flipped shit just like I would have. Lucy is _broken_ over the fact that _you're pulling away from her_. With you trying to resign from the Team she's worried you're going to avoid her forever and she doesn't want to lose you. I'm giving you an hour to get your shit together and go talk to her. If you don't then I _will_ _make you_ get your shit together." Gildarts dropped him, hard, and stormed toward the doorway to go get a drink; Erik watched as Laxus patted off his cargo pants. "She isn't terrified of me?" Laxus asked, his face tense, and Erik shook his head. "No, Laxus, she is terrified of losing you. Go make Starlight happy again, a big oaf." That earned a glare but Laxus vanished in a flash of light.

He stepped inside the house, seeing Lucy laying on the bed with tears rolling down her cheeks, and he went to her and pulled her into his arms. "I am _so_ sorry, Starlight." He whispered into her hair, she whimpered and held his shirt tightly. "Don't leave me, Laxus, please. I can't lose you." He hushed her. "You'll _never_ lose me, Starlight, I was worried you were scared of me." The bond let out a bitter and watery laugh. "Do you forget what happened the day your dad was excommunicated?" Laxus thought back to when Ivan, blaming Lucy for being kicked out of Fairy Tail, had attacked the blond girl while she was meditating. He'd hospitalized his own father, damn near killing the man, and it was only because of Lucy that he hadn't killed him.

"No, I'll never forget that day, but I keep losing control." Lucy shook her head. "You're still adapting to the fact that the lacrima gives you instincts like a dragon, Laxus, so you're going to flip shit when something you value is hurt or put at risk. Me, your grandfather, anyone you hold close will always be safe because if something happens you'll do anything in your power to keep them safe." He resisted the urge to hold her tighter, seeing as her back was wrapped in bandages, and he breathed in her scent. "How can you be so sure?" Lucy looked up at him. "I trust you, that's how." His eyes widened and he buried his face into her hair as tears formed in his eyes.

* * *

 **YEAR FOUR: X775**

People were astonished, there was no other way about it, that at the age of even Lucy was able to summon two golden spirits and perform combination attacks; for the blond she was glad to feel as strong as she had before the time shift, Artemis' magic had really kicked up her power, but meditating with Capricorn had helped grow her magic that much faster. Even Levy, Cana, Sorano, and Erza were forces to be reckoned with since they'd worked with her on their powers; Levy was a lot stronger and more confident in this go around, having formed a Team with Cana and Sorano instead of Jet and Droy. Rather than Team Shadow Gear the blunette had formed Team Diamond Script and the trio of girls were the second strongest team in Fairy Tail after Team Elle.

Lucy ignored the feeling of anxiety that rose up around her as she looked at Laxus, she'd told him _everything_ and Erik was sitting beside her, Makarov already knew the truth too and she wondered if Laxus would think she was nuts. "Okay? So you changed time to save the dragons, and us, and now you've gotta fix everything? Well, things may have changed drastically but we'll be here for ya Starlight." Her eyes twinkled. "Thanks, Laxus." His eyes softened a bit and he leaned back in his chair, Gildarts watching him carefully, the boy was fifteen and the grandson of Makarov but he wouldn't fantasize about an eight-year-old, the Crash Mage was becoming hellishly protective of Lucy. He'd even stopped taking such long missions, so he didn't lose time with his girls, and it even changed the outcome of several small arguments among the guild as well as the S-Class exam outcomes. "So we have to find five other dragon slayers?" Lucy nodded. "Yes, on July 7th, in two years, the dragons will vanish. Wendy, Sting, and Rogue will be five years old while Natsu will be ten and Gajeel will be twelve." Lucy ticked off, earning nods, and Lucy stretched lazily.

"It's late, I'm exhausted from training, I'm going to bed." The blond headed inside the house, it was nearing ten thirty at night after all since her story had taken so damn long, but Laxus didn't think she was nuts so she was happy.

–

Erik sighed, the vision in his left eye was getting worse day by day, Porlyusica frowned as she examined his scarred eye and finally stepped back. "I can make you a new eye, like I did Erza, and you'll keep your vision; the attack to this eye has been slowly making your vision diminish and it's finally to the point that you're noticing it." The poison dragon slayer nodded, he wanted her to save his vision, and Porlyusica hummed. "I won't charge you, seeing as Makarov would bitch at me, but I want you to let me take samples of your blood. The lacrima altered your blood so you can't be poisoned and I can use that as a base for most antidotes rather than dealing with the pain of extracting poison." Again he nodded and she hooked up a drain and needle, easily filling a few bags with blood, and once that was done the woman stored that away for later and got to work on his eye.

It had taken a week, of work on the eye itself and the actual switch, but Erik's body wasn't rejecting it and that was all that counted. Like his original eye it was indigo with slit pupils but she noticed the small flecks of blood red and black in that eye, like dark fire, and she hummed. "Activate your lacrima." As he did the woman watched his eye lighten to a shade of blood red, the indigo becoming flecks of color, and she showed him in the mirror. They headed outside and he used a few techniques, not noticing any strain or after effects, and the pink haired healer made him promise to come back so she could keep stockpiling his blood and keep a check on his eye.

* * *

 **YEAR FIVE: X776**

After a metric fuck ton of training Laxus had made S-Class, at age fifteen, and he smirked as Lucy cheered for him. Erik was scowling and Erza looked pissed off, both of them had been told they weren't allowed to enter due to their age; the minimum age for S-Class entry was twelve, which was a year away for Erza and two for Erik while Lucy had three years to go. Gray and Cana were the same age as Erik, with two years to wait, and Sorano was a year away while Levy was three years away.

"It's not fair!" Sorano snapped, irritated, and Lucy giggled at the girl's reaction. "You'll make it, don't worry, all you have to do is beat Erza." Sorano looked at the redhead, who gave the Crystal Mage a terrifying scowl, and said white haired mage flinched. "M-maybe...maybe I'll be fine in three years. I can beat Lucy and Levy." The blond and blunette both growled. "Oi!" Sorano laughed as they began to chase her around, Laxus shaking his head, and Makarov sighed.

"I don't know if they're ready to even be candidates." He commented as the two girls tackled Sorano and began tickling her. "They're kids." Gildarts commented, watching gleefully as Lucy and Levy worked together to make Sorano apologize.

–

Storm blue eyes narrowed in annoyance as Sorano pouted beside Cana, they'd been pleading to go on an S-Class job with him ever since he got promoted, and he was diligently waiting for the Galuna Island quest to pop up so he could get Lucy and get her Archer key. "I said I'm not taking you on an S-Class, I haven't even taken _my_ team with me on an S-Class job." Cana and Sorano both pouted more and stormed away.

"It'd be easier if you relented." Gildarts commented. "Or hid up on the second floor." Laxus sighed. "If I do then Lucy can't sit next to me, you know she'll pout if she can't drink her strawberry smoothie while telling me all about her training." Gildarts nodded. "Telling us, brat, she's _my_ daughter." Laxus glanced at him and smirked. "Lucy is _my_ matriarch." The blond answered with just as much possession as Gildarts used, and each man looked up at the sound of a tapping foot. "You two fighting again?" Lucy demanded. "No." They replied in unison, seeing Erik smirking, and the poison dragon slayer shook his head and decided not to sell them out. This time.

"I'm going on a job with Erza and Gray tomorrow." The blond commented, her tone showing it was final, and the scowl on Erik's face showed that he'd already had it out with her over the matter. Neither Laxus nor Erik liked Gray, even though he was like Lucy's brother considering she treated him as such, and he shared that sentiment with them. "Why?" Lucy glanced at Laxus the moment the question slipped out. "I'm going to start going on jobs with everyone else, I want to get to know everyone, and I need to make sure I can work with everyone just as well as I can with you and Erik. But you'll both try to put him in harm's way if I take you while Erza won't." That much was true.

"Take Jellal with you." The boy had accepted that Erza was on Lucy's team and instead formed his team with Jet, Macbeth, and Droy, Team Meteor Dash, and he still talked with his redheaded friend every day he was around as well as Lucy. Sorano, Macbeth, and Jellal had a sort of hero worship for the blond because she had saved them all. "Sounds good to me. Jellal!" Lucy skipped across the room, to talk to the blue haired Heavenly Body Mage, and Laxus scowled while Gildarts shared his expression. "You guys...I know you're only doing it because you care but Lucy doesn't want to replace you as a dad or replace you two as her guys." Cana commented, watching the trio turn to look at her, and the Card Mage huffed. "I know everything, so do Levy and Sorano as well as Erza, and I know she's got a whole brood of slayers she needs to find. Let her take jobs with other people and just keep an eye out for her guys and Wendy when you're out." Cana advised, watching as the boys scowled, and she rolled her eyes again.

–

Disbelief must have shown on her face, Erza patted her back to reassure her what she was seeing was real, and Lucy held the three keys she'd not owned in the other time-line. ' _If I have these...what happened to Yukino?'_ Lucy hoped that her friend had simply pursued another magic path and then she thought about it, Yukino had been born in X773 so the girl was _only_ three years old; Lucy hadn't asked how she'd gotten the trio of spirits before but assumed that it was either on jobs or through shops.

"Are you going to contract them?" Jellal asked, smiling at her, and Gray was grinning too. A small bit of guilt struck through her and the blond looked around as time seemed to freeze, the air stilled, and a translucent figure appeared before her.

 _Silly girl, they were meant to be yours, I cannot tell you everything but Yukino is still safe. The spirits were meant to be yours, though I cannot tell you why, so contract them._

Lucy knew that voice, she could never forget it, that was her mother's voice; as the world seemed to come back to her Gray was waving a hand in her face. "Oi, head out of the stars, I wanna watch ya contract a spirit." Lucy blinked slowly and nodded, she would talk to Horologium and Crux later tonight, it seemed like she had something big going on centered around her and she wanted to know what it was.

"Open! Gate of the Heavenly Scales, Libra!" This spirit, having not been one of hers before, had not been protected when the time shift happened so she wouldn't remember Yukino. "Libra, would you like to make a contract with me and be my friend?" The veil wearing woman blinked and her eyes softened. "Yes, Mistress." Lucy shook her head. "Lucy, call me Lucy." The blond insisted, earning a chuckle. "As you wish, Lucy-hime." The blond resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Leo calls you that so it has become infamous." The woman explained. "I see. Well what days are you free?" Libra hummed. "You can summon me Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and after two o'clock on Saturdays but only before two o'clock on Sundays." Lucy nodded and quickly penned that down in her notebook, thankfully her other spirits all had the same contracts as before, and Libra vanished.

"Open, Gate of the Paired Fish, Pisces!" The two appeared in their battle forms, so she could hash out the contract, and the mother and son combination announced, gleefully, that they were free whenever she needed them since she wanted to be their friend. As Lucy held the last key, the Serpent Bearer, Gray seemed impressed. "That's a cool key." He praised as Lucy held it out. "Open, Gate of the Serpent Bearer, Ophiuchus!" The dark clouds formed, the black mist coating the area, and the massive snake hissed as it appeared. "You have called for me, Misstress?" The S sound was dragged out, as expected, and Lucy giggled. "Call me Lucy, Ophiuchus, and I want to be your friend." The snake's tongue flickered out and it nodded its head. "Sso you wisshh it shhall be, Hime. I am free whenever you are in need of my sservicess." The snake informed her.

"Do you make your own poison?" Cubelios had been taken by the council, when Erik revealed her, and Lucy knew they were undoing the spell on Kinana since Michello had recognized that she was actually human. "Yesss, Hime, and I know of your poisson dragon sslayer." Lucy grinned. "Excellent. Thank you, Ophiuchus." The snake nodded again and vanished, Lucy sliding the keys onto her ring, and she glanced at the others. "Let's go home." The three other mages nodded.

 _All I need is Virgo, Taurus, and Sagittarius and I'll have the thirteen golden keys. But why would I need them? What is it about me that makes them_ meant _to be mine?_

* * *

 **YEAR SIX: X777**

Lucy's eyes closed, her headache was killing her as Cana and Sorano yelled at Erza about how the redhead had thrashed them in the S-Class exams and taken the title for herself as youngest mage to make S-Class among all guilds. Lucy's head dropped onto her arms as Laxus rubbed her back, Erik handing her a glass of water and some medicine, and the blond took the medicine with a grimace before drinking the water. "You'll feel better, that's why you don't sleep outside." The blond had fallen asleep stargazing and gotten sick for a few days. "I'm sorry." She whimpered, her nose still stuffed up a little, and they both shook their head.

"WHOA~ THIS PLACE IS HUUUGE! SO THIS IS THE GUILD WHERE ALL THE MAGES GATHER!" The throbbing headache only intensified as Lucy looked up and blinked as Gray scowled at Natsu. "Who the hell are you?" The ice mage asked, looking at the pink haired youth. "I'm Natsu Dragneel. Who are you?" The ice mage grinned. "I'm Gray. Gray Fullbuster, of Fairy Tail." Lucy blinked, a soft smile forming on her face, and Erik exchanged looks with Laxus. "Hi Natsu, I'm Lucy Heartfilia-Clive." The girl greeted, waving, and his dark amber eyes widened slightly before a silly grin appeared on his face and he blushed a little.

Erik and Laxus both exchanged looks before resisting the urge to grumble about how unfair it was that someone else was here to take her attention away from them.

"Luigi, let's go on a job when I get stamped!" Lucy only laughed. "I'm still getting over being sick but I'll go on a job with you when I get better." He nodded. "Okay! Sounds good to me!" Makarov watched the flash of jealousy in both Erik and Laxus' eyes, when they were older he knew the boys would learn to get over the fact that they had to share her but...right now he had a bunch of immature kids fighting for the attention of one girl. Sadly there wasn't enough booze in the world to deal with that headache.

 _Gildarts needs to hurry the hell up and get back so_ he _can police the little brats._

There was a loud cracking noise and he glanced down to see Natsu and Gray fighting, tables breaking and chairs flying, and the old man groaned.

 _Why didn't I take advantage of the peace while it lasted? I had a warning this time around too._

* * *

 **Har har har. Poor Makarov.**


	60. Flaming Fists of Restraint?

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **FLAMING FISTS OF RESTRAINT?**

The most recent addition to the guild, Natsu Dragneel, was the most rowdy and annoying brat Laxus had ever met. It pissed him off that Lucy would _smile_ at Natsu in a way she only did with Erik and himself and that someone as stupid as him was one of her brood.

Natsu, on the other hand, was determined to make the cute blond notice him; Luigi was adorable, or was her name Lucy, and something about her made him want to just be around her. Such as right now, she was staring at the job board, to pay her rent, so he ran toward her for a hug.

But a bolt of lightning stopped him short, his eyes blazing as he jumped to his feet and turned to Laxus, and the older teen growled as Natsu's fists erupted into fire. "I knew you wanted to fight me, Laxus!" Natsu loved fighting almost as much as he loved Lucy.

"Fire Dragons' Iron-" A hard blow from Master Makarov stopped all the action, Makarov looked furious, and Lucy glanced at the scene in surprise.

"Natsu, Gray, Laxus, and Erik! I have letters, stacks of letters from the council, all about how destructive you are. I'm done with this! You _will_ be joining me on a training mission so I can teach you _control_!" Lucy's brown eyes were pleading and the man sighed before nodding slightly.

It was a week from hell, for Natsu, since he was being drilled about toning his attacks down inside buildings and rooms. For Lucy it was a week of near hysterics, watching the boys try to restrain themselves from causing mass amounts of trouble.


	61. Train Encounters

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **TRAIN ENCOUNTERS**

The little blond was trying to find a compartment to herself, she was eleven and going on her first solo job, or at least a compartment that didn't have a bunch of weirdos in it; her search was proving futile and she still held her carry on bag since she didn't have Virgo yet, Lucy inwardly vowed to thank the maid spirit profusely and frequently. As the blond got near the bathrooms she paused, a near empty compartment making her eyes sparkle, and she peered in the closed door fully to see someone splayed out on the seat she hadn't been able to see. Even at thirteen his muscles were toned, his tanned skin was pulled tight with the way his arms were pulled back behind his head, and his wild black hair wasn't quite as long yet. But there was no guild mark, and he was missing a good bit of his piercings, Lucy tapped on the glass.

A single crimson eye cracked open, looking at her, and she nibbled her lower lip as she parted the door slightly. "Can I sit with you? Everywhere else is full...or the occupants are weird." Both of his eyes opened and he nodded, surprising her by picking her bag up and putting it on the luggage rack for her. "Where's a tiny thing like you headed on her own?" Lucy blinked at his question and huffed. "I'm a Fairy Tail Mage and I'm going on my first solo job." She replied with a small pout.

"Oh? Where at?" Lucy pulled out the flier. "It's a monster hunting job, some giant frog or something, just outside of Oak Town." Gajeel studied her face for a long moment, considering they still had two hours before they arrived in town, and his lips curled into a smirk.

 _Found you, Bunny Girl_


	62. Her Alpha

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **HER ALPHA**

He was following her, Lucy was sure of it, and the blond glanced behind her before sighing and keeping stride as she headed toward the swamp where this crazy frog thing was; she had Gemini beside her and Caelum, the little orb spirit was helping her stay off the muddy ground as long as she had to, and the girl glanced at the entrance of the gross place. The smell alone was disgusting, it made her eyes water, and she knew Gajeel would be suffering too.

"Rrriibbbeett." The deep bellow almost startled her and then the creature lifted up, sending muddy water flying, and she realized the 'trees' were growths off its back. The frog was _huge_ and Lucy imagined she might be way in over her head. "Oh, god dammit." Caelum beeped once in agreement and Lucy jumped back as she tried to formulate a plan. "Caelum fire into it's mouth, Gemini can you transform into Laxus?" The twins vanished, revealing the teenage lightning mage, and GemiLaxus let out a sharp blast of lightning into the water. Lucy watched the frog thing groan and fall.

"Is it dead?" Lucy asked softly. Her answer was its bulbous eyes snapping open and its tongue steaking toward her.

"Tetsuryuuken!" The gross black tongue was severed by the spiked blade, Gajeel didn't seem bothered by the smell and Lucy felt a blush climb to her face. "Tetsuryuukon!" He punched, hard, and she heard bones shatter.

"Tetsuryuu no Houko!" The whirlwind of iron shards cut into its flesh, blood splattered around them, and Gajeel landed in front of her.

"Gihi. Now it is. Now let's get you paid and go home, Bunny Girl." He replied with a grin.

"Okay!" They had started walking when Lucy paused. "You remember?" His eyes shifted to look at her.

"Metalicana told me what he remembered and that he was going to seal himself inside of me to prevent me from becoming a dragon. I don't remember the other time-line, of that's what you mean." Lucy's eyes softened as she debated leaving out their status as enemies the first time around.


	63. Never Too Late

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **NEVER TOO LATE**

Raios Cheney and Sting Eucliff had joined Quatro Cerberus together, Wendy Marvell was now a member of Lamia Scale, and Lucy knew that they were going to form strong bonds with the guild members there.

"I wasn't looking hard enough." For Erik he hated that she was beating herself up about it, she was only eleven and even though she had all the other memories she still had to train and relax too.

"Fate brought all of us together the first time, right?" She had nodded gently despite her tears.

"Then why would we not be able to get back to one another? Obviously they _have_ to be there for some reason and its probably so they don't get frozen in the seven year gap." While Gajeel had instinctively become her Alpha, the one they all looked to for strength and guidance, Erik had become her Beta; he gave her logic and reason, kept her calm where Gajeel could not.

"I didn't think about that." Erik nodded and offered a cheeky grin.

"It just means Gajeel, Laxus, Natsu, and I get you to ourselves longer." Lucy shook her head, unable to held herself, and he leaned his forehead against her shoulder. The new reality was blurring with the old so much so that she only remembered flashes of what had happened before, which she knew was probably the point.

"Just...just _live_ and be happy, Lucy. Fate _will_ bring us back together."


	64. Meet the Strauss'

_I am not counting Memory Days as a thing, sorry if you thought I was, so Lucy has not seen kiddie Mira. She only knows that Mirajane and Erza used to fight all the time._

 **Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **MEET THE STRAUSS'**

Lucy's eyes widened, ever so slightly, as she watched the trio that entered the room; Mirajane, Elfman, and Lisanna Strauss. Mira was in a dark purple and black outfit, her hair pulled back in a ponytail with a ribbon that had a skull clip, and her expression was rather cold. Elfman was a shy looking boy in a blue suit with a red bow tie, no scar yet, and Lisanna had her hair very short with a cute pink shirt dress.

"Oh? Are you here to join Fairy Tail? I'm Lucy Heartfilia-Clive, it's nice to meet you!" The blond greeted cheerfully, from her seat beside Erza, and the eldest of the Strauss siblings studied Lucy for a moment and scowled. "What's with your stupid smile?" The statement was cold and it caught Lucy off guard for a moment.

"How _dare_ you speak to Lucy like that! You ignorant-" Erza was on her feet in a flash and Lucy grabbed the redhead's arm. "No! Stop it!" The Requip mage glanced at her friend as Lucy smiled warmly at the girl.

"I'm Elfman Strauss and this is my younger sister Lisanna, that's my big sis Mirajane." The middle child introduced gently, making the blond give him a soft smile of her own, and she nodded happily. "We welcome all sorts of mages, Fairy Tail is a home for everyone." Lucy informed them kindly.

"Why are you so nice, brat?" Mirajane asked harshly.

"Why shouldn't I be? We're going to be nakama." Mirajane looked alarmed for all of two seconds.

"You're such a weirdo."

* * *

 **Now the wheel is in motion, slowly getting back to being an adult again for Lucy and the others. I know the chapters might seem boring but I'm trying to highlight some of the events between X777 and X784 when Tenrou Island is attacked.**


	65. Eggs All Around

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **EGGS ALL AROUND**

Lucy had known that Happy was hatched when the Exceeds had sent 100 eggs to Earthland, that Natsu had found his egg and Lisanna played mother, but with he changes she caused Lucy wondered if Anima would even open. It had to have done so once if Porlyusica was here, right?

"Luce! Look what we have! I found a dragon egg and so did Laxus and Erik!" The blond stopped since Natsu had nearly collided with her in his haste to make her look, her eyes shifting to the blue and white striped egg that she knew Happy had been born from. Then she saw the cream and tan mottled egg that Laxus was examining as well as the red and white spotted egg Erik had beside him.

Gajeel rolled his eyes. "They aren't dragon eggs, moron, dragon's eggs are a lot harder and scaled. Did Igneel teach you anything about dragons?" Natsu frowned, giving a slight pout, and Lucy crossed her arms over her chest. "Stop it, don't be mean. Even if they aren't dragon eggs...it's a mystery." The blond clapped cheerfully.

"Don't be jealous that _you're_ the only one without an egg." Jet teased, Droy laughing beside him, and Lucy idly wondered if their fighting with Gajeel was over Levy or simply because they could now that they were interacting without the guild war.

"I don't need no egg." He snapped, annoyed, but Lucy could tell he was a little upset. Just like before he was the odd man out among the dragon slayers, no motion sickness and no exceed yet, and Lucy walked over and patted his hand.

"Since you don't have an egg to watch we're going on a job." Gajeel's mouth formed into a smirk and he nodded, waving at the others as Lucy dragged him to the job board.


	66. Exceed Mania

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **EXCEED MANIA**

Natsu, Laxus, and Erik tensed as the eggs all cracked; Lucy had been talking with Cana in a hushed voice about getting her own place since Gildarts was taking longer and more frequent jobs, and both girls looked up when Natsu called for them.

The shells shattered, revealing three soft glows, and Lucy watched as the small exceeds all floated up into the air; Happy, just smaller and cuter, landed on Natsu's head. The exceed Laxus now had was tan with a cream face and dark black spots for eyebrows with a bushy tail and black paw pads. Erik's new exceed partner was the same color as Erza's scarlet hair with white spots and a white circle around its left eye, a pink nose and paw pads, and the blond giggled since its tail was short.

"How cute!" "Are those cats, with wings?" "Waaahhh!"

The reactions and whispers started up and Lucy couldn't help but walk over to see them up close, her eyes widening as Happy looked at her.

"What are you going to name them?" She asked gently.

"Happy!" "Aye!" As expected.

"Monmo." "'kay." Laxus chuckled at his little buddy as the tan and cream Exceed answered rather stoically.

"Kasumi." "Huh?" Erik rolled his eyes as his crimson and white cat peered up at him from his arms.

Lucy glanced over at Gajeel, who looked irate, and crossed the room to him.

"Don't worry, Gajeel, you get a little buddy too." He glanced at her and smiled.

"Thanks Bunny."


	67. Meeting in the Mist

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **MEETING IN THE MIST**

It was hard to see anything in front of her face, which was annoying, and Lucy paused as she noticed a pair of sandal clad feet and bandaged legs. Baggy pants, a tight shirt, and a mostly covered face. Her brown eyes widened.

"I promise I'm not going to hurt you." He spoke quickly, so she didn't attack him, and Lucy blinked in surprise. "Okay? Any idea where this crazy fog came from?" The rest of the team was scattered in the forest, searching for the artifact they had been sent to find, and the boy hummed.

"Me, I don't really want to be seen, I was heading for Magnolia." Lucy pointed. "It's that way. If you're a mage feel free to check out Fairy Tail, we love making new friends." He nodded and headed off, making Lucy smile, and the blond trekked deeper into the mist and through it.

"There you are, I was flying all over for you!" Happy commented, perching on Natsu's head, and Erza rolled her eyes. "You're not getting too far with your flying yet, Happy, we're going to have to work on your training some more." The small cat frowned and Gray smirked while Natsu grinned.

"I just met a kid in bandages and weird clothes. He was headed for our town." Lucy explained, watching their brows wing up, and Natsu chuckled. "Well maybe he'll join Fairy Tail." Gray stared at him.

"What if he's an enemy?" Erza shook her head. "I doubt it." The girls shared a knowing smile before heading home since Gray had found the golden monkey statue they had to find.

Evidently Naked Mummy had a weird initiation ritual, their mages _actually_ looked normal at one point in time, but Lucy regretted the job after she learned who was getting it.

But when she got home she heard they had a new member named Mystogan.


	68. Rivalries For All

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **RIVALRIES FOR ALL**

Makarov looked at the members of the guild and frowned, all his kids were growing up, but his eyes were focused on the problem pairs. Gray and Natsu, thankfully their destruction had been curbed mostly, and then there was Erza and Mirajane. Cana and Sorano were slowly falling into a position as friendly rivals, after losing their S-Class chance to Mirajane this year, and then he had the pair of Jet and Droy fighting over Lisanna's attention.

Erik, Laxus, and Gajeel were the only ones who seemed not to care about the rest of the guild and their rivalries. At least he'd thought so until he saw Gajeel arguing with Elfman about who was stronger, Erik was glaring daggers at Jellal, and Laxus was scowling at Levy as she read with Lucy.

"Why...why do I have to deal with this?" He asked nobody in particular.

"We're here to join Fairy Tail." The two mages were dressed in a cowboy style, the young woman had green hair and dark purple eyes while the male had shaggy dark hair and black eyes.

"I'm Alzack Connell and this is Bisca Mulan. We use Guns Magic." Makarov smiled, they seemed friendly and like they got along well.

"Oh? I hope you don't think you're alluring with that atrocious hair color." Laki Oliette, the most recent addition to the guild, purred to Bisca as she leaned on Alzack's arm. "Laki!" Levy looked up in alarm at the girl's words.

"Like you have a right to talk with that weird look you have!" Bisca replied with a flush of anger.

"Oh boy." Lucy murmured, looking alarmed, and she noticed the number of 'friendly' rivalries had slowly grown. Plus they were getting fierce.

"Levy-chan...promise me we won't ever become rivals."

"I promise, Lu-chan."


	69. Anima

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **ANIMA**

The guild hall was deathly silent, alarmingly so, as Lucy got closer. Natsu, Erik, Laxus, and Gajeel were walking with her back to the hall after they'd taken a job together; Lucy pushed the doors open and went stiff, Mirajane and Elfman were sobbing in the middle of the guild hall.

"M-mira...where Lisanna?" Natsu and Lisanna were still friends and he'd been jealous that she was going on an S-Class, Lucy had made him chill out, but now she knew there wasn't much she would be able to do. Tears formed in her eyes as she lifted her hands to her mouth.

"S-she's...she's gone Natsu." Mira replied softly, her voice laced with sadness, and Lucy was trembling. "N-no..." Lucy's eyes closed, she wasn't sure if Lisanna had gone to Edolas or if she actually died this time, and the blond closed her eyes sadly before burying her face in Laxus' shirt and sobbing.

"You're...you were supposed to protect her!" Natsu accused and he fell silent as a heavy hand fell on his shoulder, Gajeel shook his head with a cold look, and Natsu turned to walk away. "N-natsu..." He froze, Lucy's voice was so broken, and she had tears on her beautiful cheeks.

"Let's go home." Lucy whispered, clinging to Laxus, and the dragon slayers looked at Makarov as the old man nodded and they led Lucy away. Happy, Monmo, and Kasumi flew silently near them.

"I don't think she's dead." Lucy whispered. "They didn't...there's no body right? She can't be gone." The ramblings of someone who was sad, at least that's what Natsu believed, and he swallowed his own pain as Lucy tried to hide hers. If Lucy could be strong than so would he.

But none of them counted on the letter that was waiting for them on Lucy's bed from Lisanna or the faint whisper of Time-Space magic. The only thing the paper read was Anima.

* * *

 **I know the chapter jumps won't make _too_ much sense but the rivalries _do_ come into play later on.**


	70. Not Everything Changes

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **NOT EVERYTHING CHANGES**

Lucy shook her head as she walked beside Team Natsu, Makarov's training with Natsu and the others on restraint was so damn effective that every destructive mage went through it, the team no longer destroyed everything they touched so Team Elle had disbanded long before.

Team Natsu was among the most popular, since they had the mighty Titania and Salamander as well as the Ice Lord, Lucy had denied any crazy nicknames but she'd still wound up known as the Star Princess.

The girl was no longer a child, it had been twelve years since Gildarts first ran into her when she went to save Erik and then found Fairy Tail; once again she was seventeen, had her curvy body, and now she had a better outlook on the world around her. With Zoldeo not taking Capricorn from her the blond was able to train every day, combined with Artemis' power that had merged into her she was far stronger than she had been this same age last time.

"Luce we're stopping for lunch." Natsu piped up, having been talking with Erza in a hushed voice about how spacey Lucy had been recently, and Gray shook his head.

"Only because that Fire Lizard can't go an hour without eating."

"What was that you stupid Ice Cube?

Lucy shook her head as she resisted the urge to simply laugh at the duo, some things didn't change and a huge part of her was glad they hadn't.


	71. How The Cookie Crumbles

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **HOW THE COOKIE CRUMBLES**

The mission had been a trap, go fucking figure, and they had used Erza's near obsession with strawberry cake to lure the group into a dark pit in the caves that only appeared in low tide and planned to drown the group.

Even without Aquarius or Pisces it was a sad attempt since they used normal rope that Natsu had burned through without expending any magic, the men also didn't count on Gray being able to Ice Make with his hands bound (Erza made sure he could) and Lucy's kick to the man who tried to bind her legs had broken his nose and jaw.

All in all the newbie kidnappers were just sad. "So tell us why you were trying to kill us again?" Natsu asked, picking one man up by the hair, and Lucy glanced over to the walls where the shining crystals were formed. The blond studied them and blinked when a face shone in their surface. Soul Sealing lacrima. Seith Magic.

Fuck.

"Nat-" The blast of green shot the fire dragon slayer back onto the ground and Lucy turned to see a _very_ disturbing sight. Bickslow, without his visor, and his tongue wasn't hanging from his mouth; his hair was smoothed back instead of its normal mohawk, and he looked angry.

Laxus hadn't been around to save the three members of the Raijinshuu this time, they were evil, and Lucy didn't want to hurt any of them. But this time they were enemies.

"Looks like Busty isn't lacking in the brains department." Her face flushed.

"W-what...what did you just call me!?" Lucy's anger flared to life.

A bolt of clean lightning was followed by a snarl of rage.

Memories of a woman coated with lightning flashed through the blond as panic filled her.

Laxus didn't know them this time, they weren't his Raijinshuu, and only she could stop him.


	72. Electrocute

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **ELECRTOCUTE**

Laxus stood in the cave entrance, a rather put off looking Evergreen and Freed bound by anti-magic shackles behind him, and the blond dragon slayer was growling.

"I'll show you what happens to anyone who disrespects Starlight." He had been on his own job, S-Class of course, and Lucy then realized the Raijinshuu _were_ his job.

"Laxus..." Lucy was watching him, his eyes briefly flickered to her face before looking back at Bickslow, and the Seith Mage blinked as his Figure Eyes activated.

Fuck.

"Wha...your souls...how?" He seemed alarmed, he wasn't trying to control them, and then sat down and crossed his legs.

"Busty, c'mere." The blond met his gaze and suddenly the world fell away, the cave vanished and Lucy was staring at Bickslow. He was glowing, his body had a faint ring of gold around it, and when she walked over it felt so...warm.

But that bond was severed as he began to writhe in pain, reality slamming back into her, and Lucy could see the lightning dancing on his form. He wasn't evil, he was alone, Freed and Evergreen were just two people who he had controlled at this point. He was still _their_ Bickslow deep down.

"Laxus stop!" Lucy reached down and took Bickslow's hand, the lightning cut off right away, and she checked his pulse and vitals. "Hey, Bickslow wake up. Come on, Bicks, The blond ran her hands down the sides of his face and his eyes opened.

No Figure Eyes this time, just his.

"Why?" Her own eyes softened at his question.

"I saw it, when you did that, you just want people to be around you but you're afraid of your magic. It's okay to be afraid, you have a great power." He lowered his gaze.

"But you don't have to be alone. None of you do."

* * *

 **Can't have Fairy Tail without Bicks, Ever, and Freed.**


	73. Cheer Squad

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **CHEER SQUAD**

Lucy was getting beyond pissed off, Laxus and Gajeel were far too busy laughing at the situation to do anything about it, and her Team offered her amused expressions. They weren't the Raijinshuu anymore, since Laxus hadn't saved them, the trio of mages had named themselves the Knights of the Star Princess and Bickslow was the team leader.

"Princess!"

"ARGH!" Lucy fled, unable to take any more, they were as clingy with her as they had been with Laxus (only that this time _Bickslow_ sang her praises rather than Freed)

"Poor Lucy." Levy whispered from beside Cana, both girls owed a lot to their blond friend and so did Mirajane. The blond had been the one to help Mira and Eflman both through the loss of their sister.

"Well I think it's cute. Plus when they get all huggy you can tell Laxus, Gajeel, Erik, and Natsu are planning to skin them." The girls laughed openly at Lucy's cheer squad, their outfits reminiscent of medieval styles. Freed wore a burgundy long coat, pants, and white boots with a rapier; Bickslow just looked like a cross between a jester and a knight with his helmet, and Evergreen wore a lovely silk dress that had a train in the back while the front stopped at her knees.

"Safe to say that Lucy will _never_ get a moment's peace." Mirajane commented.

"So who do you think will be the first one to make a move on her? My money's on Erik since he's known her the longest." Cana piped up.

"I think it's going to be Gajeel, he's the one the others look to after all." Levy giggled after her statement when Natsu glanced at the iron dragon slayer before going to start a brawl with the three new mages.

* * *

 **I promise the Raijinshuu is formed (later) but Bickslow will _always_ have a soft spot for Lucy in that she saved their lives.**


	74. Phantom Strike Force

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **PHANTOM STRIKE FORCE**

With her not being the heiress to a multi-million dollar estate the blond had imagined that the Phantom Lord drama wasn't going to happen, instead she simply walked with her small bit of groceries and headed to the house after managing to ditch her squad of body guards. When she and Erik shared an apartment Gajeel had become a couch crasher so frequently that they had all just simply gotten a house together, or at least the property, they had Laki and a few others help build the house. It was a lovely brick home with iron accents and an iron catwalk to reach the second and third floor.

The basement was also furnished, it served as Natsu's room when he ended up staying over (which was all the damn time), and Lucy had the third floor bedroom with a sky light so she could stargaze from the roof. Gajeel also had a third floor bedroom, Erik just below him on the second floor, and Laxus took a spare bedroom on the second floor as well.

The boys never questioned why Lucy wanted so many rooms, it certainly helped since her Knights ended up staying over along with her team, and the blond only requested that anyone who stayed over help with chores or food.

So with that in mind, that she wasn't an heiress or rich, Lucy wasn't expecting the orb of water to close around her. "Juvia has acquired the target." The cold voice spoke up, making Lucy turn, and she glared at the blunette.

As Lucy reached for her keys she forced herself to not breathe, she had to stay conscious, and she touched Aquarius' key gently. The mermaid came in a flash of gold and blue wearing a mask of rage.


	75. Phantom's Prison

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **PHANTOM'S PRISON**

Lucy's eyes blinked away the exhaustion, her face pressed into stone, and she heard a jingle that made her shoot into a sitting position. Jose was grinning at her, his expression terrifying, _and that fucker had her keys_. "You're finally awake, little Star Princess, but as a holder mage you're rather stuck aren't you?" Lucy knew that she was high up, way too high up to jump, but she needed her keys at least.

The stolen S-Class hadn't even happened yet, though she imagined it might not be stolen this time around since Laxus and Erza took them on S-Class jobs as training, and the blond glared. "Why did you kidnap me?" The Phantom Lord master laughed.

"You have a large sum of money that is written to you, for when you turn of age, and I want you to sign it over to me." He explained with a grin. "If you don't then I will _destroy_ Fairy Tail." The blond gave him a blank look and burst into laughter.

"If you destroy the guild hall we'll rebuild, you'll have started a guild war so your ass would be shut down, and then I'd still inherit the money. Oh and you can't kill me either, that's murder and you'd end up in prison and the money would go to my legal guardian who happens to be Gildarts Clive and he's loyal to Fairy Tail."

Jose's face flushed, the girl was _right_ , and anger swarmed within him. "You insolent lit-" He hadn't thought to bind her ankles so he stepped back as she jumped to her feet, smirking, and he was drop kicked hard in the chest before she hooked her toe around her key ring and kicked it straight up to catch it.

* * *

 **Jose didn't think this through clearly, if at all.**


	76. Revenge is Sweet

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **REVENGE IS SWEET**

The rest of the slayers were right behind him, Gajeel was always just a hair ahead but it was because Metalicana had taught him how to _hunt_ unlike the others. Lightning Bug and Bleach Fumes weren't slayers in the sense that they had been taught by dragons but they were still slayers, he knew that they had the instincts he did, but Natsu hadn't learned the hunt well enough.

His feet pounded on the stone, his heart racing as _rage_ flowed through him at the idea of North Star being taken, the one person who had offered him a _home_ was missing. He banked a hard left as he followed the scent of rain, seeing the large castle come into focus, and from the top of the tower he saw black tendrils shooting out of what looked like a giant window.

Then he watched as a figure dropped out of the window, all the slayers knew who it was since they had enhanced senses including sight, and he growled. "Laxus!" The lightning dragon's form wavered and became a streak of gold, his body solidifying in time to catch her before he zipped back to them, and Lucy was trembling in pain from the large cut on her shoulder.

"That _fucker_!" Gajeel snarled as he looked at the building, his magic flowing to his mouth, and all four of the dragons prepped their attack. "Quadruple Unison Dragon's Roar!" The blast of fire, iron shards, lightning, and poison smashed into the building and they watched in satisfaction as the tower simply fell off and most of the left half of the building crumbled.

The dragons smirked at the destruction they'd caused, carrying Lucy back so Porlyusica could treat her shoulder Property destruction was their specialty after all.

* * *

 **Destroying half a transforming golem castle thing, Dragon's calling cards never looked so good.**


	77. Beat Down

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **BEAT DOWN**

When Phantom had destroyed the guild hall it was with great pillars of stone, rather than steel, and Lucy still felt guilty. Sure she hadn't known her parents had made an account for her, that she had money just sitting there compounding interest that she'd get access to at the age of eighteen, but that didn't mean she wanted it. Lucy had survived well enough without it, the only thing she'd do was give it to the Master to cover the cost of the destruction that was still happening.

Though she had to admit it was far less than before.

What she hadn't expected was the get grabbed by Sol, dragged through the ground, and then into the golem where Phantom Mages were waiting to beat the shit out of her. Lucy stared at the man facing her, Aria, and frowned; they had her in anti-magic shackles, her keys tucked in her cleavage so they didn't know she had them, and he was taking all the air from her lungs before sending it back into her in a rush.

The blond preferred Gajeel's torture methods, surprisingly, since she could handle those with a brave face. This was too much, her chest screaming and her heartbeat erratic, and Lucy couldn't even manage a scream. As she lay there trembling, fighting for air, some of the lower members were kicking and laughing at her; calling her weak, trying to break her. Lucy curled her body around one woman's leg, her ankles bound this time too, and sank her teeth into the woman's calf.

The taste of blood filled her mouth, the sound of screams and the feeling of pain on her back was there, but Lucy smirked since she knew they wouldn't kill her or harm her enough to be close to death.

* * *

 **Lucy doesn't just take a beating without some form of rebellion, she's far too stubborn and sassy for that.**


	78. Iron Dragon's Rage

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **IRON DRAGON'S RAGE**

Blood, the scent of her blood in particular, made his anger swell. Erik and Freed were against Sol, Laxus and Bickslow were fighting Juvia, Natsu and Evergreen were going after Totomaru, and he was going after Aria with Erza. The redhead knew to follow him, he was able to sniff them out, but when his rage grew she knew that Aria was the one with Lucy.

A scream of pain erupted in front of them and the two shot ahead, through the door, only to see the blond curled in on herself on the floor. Bruises, small cuts, and a few other injuries littered her body but there was blood around her mouth and nose; her hair was cut short, a jagged cut, and the shard of glass she must have used to cut her hair lay feet away from her on the floor.

Gajeel's skin formed to scales, his eyes darkening as his pupils wavered between expanding or contracting to their smallest, and his ability to speak words was gone. He roared, a roar that sent Erza's nerves shaking, and the Titania went to Lucy as Gajeel wrecked the mages that had been responsible for hurting Lucy.

The amount of blood should have worried her but Erza wasn't feeling particularly forgiving. "Oh how sad it is! I will add Black Steel Gajeel and Titania to my list of conquests!" Aria lifted his blind fold and Gajeel snarled. "Tetsuryūken!" He began cutting through the airspace as he advanced, earning an approving nod from Erza, and as Aria prepared to use his Airspace Zero the Iron Dragon shot out a roar that sent the S-Class mage careening across the ground.

"I'll _murder_ you for what you did to her." Gajeel growled out, his voice far lower and raspier than normal.


	79. Blood and Flesh

_This one is going to be a two-in-one chapter so it'll seem longer~_

 **Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **OUT FOR BLOOD**

Aria of the Great Sky, a mage of great power, felt fear for the second time in his life. The first time he'd ever been afraid was when he met Jose Porla, the man was persuasive in making the Element Four and Aria played a crucial role as the leader of the team, when the man had displayed his full magic it had made the Airspace user know fear.

This was different, though, as he faced the black haired man; Aria didn't just know fear, with the wild look on his opponent's face or the roar of _rage_ that had been directed at him, Gajeel Redfox was teaching him _terror_. The air magic user stood up, dusting off his clothes, and removed his blindfold to properly face the man across from him.

Man was the wrong word, he decided, as he looked at the Dragon Slayer; his eyes were too focused, too attentive, and his stance was far too good. This wasn't a man at all, it was a Dragon trapped within a human shell, and this beast was out for blood. "Come then, Gajeel Redfox, show me what you can do." The blade on his arm flashed dangerously and he was in motion.

Aria dodged a vicious swing from the sword only to catch a heard blow to the ribs from his transformed leg, the follow up movement was fast as the blade came down and Aria activated his airspace and the blade phased through him. Gajeel's snarl filled the air as Aria activated another airspace, Metsu, to take the man down. But even as the magic flared the blast of magic from the slayer's mouth connected, Aria felt _pain_ as he landed hard on the ground.

Blade cut into his flesh, small blades that had been thrown with deadly accuracy, and Gajeel's grin was dark.

 **FLESH IS WEAK**

Another blade sliced into his skin and Gajeel let out a loud bark of laughter, his instincts screaming to prolong his prey's death until retribution for his matriarch's blood was paid. On the sidelines she was laying in Titania's arms, unconscious, and she had been _beaten_ for entertainment purposes.

"Tetsuryū no Uroko." The scales formed along his entire body, coating more than his arms, and Gajeel watched those pink eyes widen in something far greater than terror. In that moment Aria was struck with panic, with a fear so great that he knew his life was over, and the blade sung out as Gajeel lunged. The first slash cut through the flesh on the man's chest, just deep enough to _hurt_ but not to kill, and the second slash immediately after was along the arm. The small knives holding him in place were in the wrists and ankles, pinned to the wall, and even he wasn't foolish enough to activate his airspace and risk taking them with him.

The growl of satisfaction, when Aria cried out in pain, spurred Gajeel on; his arm swinging as he cut into the flesh of the mage before him, blood splattered on his tunic and pants but Gajeel didn't care. His death could have been by burning, electrocution, or poison as well but being the Alpha had made Gajeel's instincts demand he get the right to the kill.

 _This_ was why he was the Alpha and not any of the others, his dragon had taught him how to be _ruthless_ and to push aside humanity when things like this happened; of all the slayers he was the first one who would kill without hesitation, Erik wasn't Dokuryū no Cobra this time around after all, but the Poison Dragon was beta simply because he was the one with the most capacity for keeping their matriarch level headed.

Another scream made him snarl as more blood sprayed onto the ground.


	80. Darkness and Light

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **DARKNESS AND LIGHT**

The two powers were warring, clashing and creating sparks and black lightning, and Makarov faced Jose with the intent to end the man whom had threatened his children. Lucy hadn't wanted to be rich, hadn't known she had money stored away, and all Jose had done was drag up sad memories for the blond girl who had become the heart of his very home.

"Jose. This is the last time we will fight, ever, and you have three seconds to surrender." The younger man, and lesser Wizard Saint, let out a bellowing laugh. "I'll never surrender to you, old man." The black energy seemed to grow and Makarov focused his magic, forming and calling upon the light, and as he opened his eyes and cast Fairy Law the old man could feel the draining effect on his still recovering body.

The light seemed to swallow everything, all the darkness taken over by the glowing warmth, and he could hear his children celebrating the victory they now achieved. Makarov left the now destroyed golem and blinked at the sight of Bickslow holding the Rain Woman he'd been sent to fight. Juvia Lockster was unconscious, at peace, and Bickslow was blushing.

"Master...she isn't like them. Can we...she was lonely and he took advantage of her." Makarov's eyes softened. Even in a place as dark as Phantom Lord there was still light. "Once the rune knights finish their investigation we'll see about her joining Fairy Tail." Makarov assured the Seith Mage.

Bickslow would deny to anyone and everyone that he'd gone easy on the woman when she clearly left herself open to his Figure Eyes.

By the time the Rune Knights had arrived there was _nothing_ left of Aria that could be counted as identifiable, a large blood stain and pile of muscle and skin and fat that lay on the floor, and not even Erza Scarlet was willing to recount what she'd witnessed that day. Gajeel Redfox had become _primal_ on all levels, far more than human, and the redhead knew that she'd witnessed what a dragon in human form was capable.

There was a darkness within his soul, the instincts of a beast, but as long as he had Lucy then she knew he'd never stray from the light. It was agreed that Lucy would not find out about Aria's fate.


	81. Fairy Tail Safari

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **FAIRY TAIL SAFARI**

When the contest was announced, the one Lucy no longer had a desire to enter since she didn't need the money, the blond didn't realize that it was altered very slightly. Rather than girls being allowed to enter they had to be nominated.

The list, of course, was pretty obvious. Mirajane, Erza, Juvia, Levy, Lucy, and Evergreen had been nominated. Lucy had glared daggers at Erik, Laxus, Natsu, Gajeel, Freed, and Bickslow for putting her in the spotlight like this.

Now she was waiting to go on stage, all girls had an animal suit theme and hers was a _god damned bunny_ , and Evergreen was chuckling beside her. Mirajane had been in a peacock outfit, Erza was a cat, Lucy was a bunny, Evergreen was a teddy bear, Juvia was a beta fish, and Levy had been a fox. Juvia's outfit had a bodice and skirt made of delicate scaled material to her mid thigh and the rest of the skirt fell to her ankles in a sheer blue and purple silk while she wore a silver circlet with the matching silk that flowed down her back.

Mirajane's dress had been a lovely royal blue that fell to her knees and the train on the back was made of peacock feathers, her headdress was also feathered and looked lovely on her. Erza's cat suit was white with blue tiger stripes and paw gloves and a tail, Levy had something similar for her fox costume except that it was fiery red with a white belly and fluffy tail with thigh high black boots and elbow long gloves and black ears.

Evergreen had a tan knit dress with a cream underbelly and a hood with two rounded ears, her knit gloves were bear paws and her knee length boots were made to look like feet while a red ribbon was tied around her neck.

Lucy was in a white bunny suit with paw boots and gloves, one ear folded over, and she sighed as she examined herself in the mirror.


	82. Miss Fairy Tail

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **MISS FAIRY TAIL**

Lucy had ended up having Aries and Lyra help her, the timid ram was adorable after all, and she'd ended up singing a song with Aries as her harmony while Lyra played her harp. The blond was always careful not to sing in front of people, seeing as she didn't know if her voice was good, but as the room fell silent the blond grew nervous.

Then the cheers started, a roaring applause, and Lucy blushed as she left the stage and hugged her spirits tightly. "Thank you for your help." She whispered, earning a pair of giggles, and Evergreen was beaming. "You never told us you could sing like that!" The Fairy Mage squealed, spinning Lucy around, and as she was righted she realized the slayers were all standing there.

Seeing her in the bunny suit was doing wonderfully awful things to all of them, Lucy was sexy as fuck after all, and Laxus shifted as Gajeel snickered. "Well, Bunny Girl, color me impressed. Next time you'll have to be on stage with me." He motioned to himself and Lucy winced, this was sort of what she wanted to avoid, and Erik chuckled.

"Seriously, Starlight, that was awesome." The blond thanked them gently.

"Now, we announce this year's Miss Fairy Tail!" Max called with a flourish.

"The winner is-" The explosion at the door sent a few unfortunate fans flying.

"The lovely Daphne!" The woman in her cowboy hat, green shirt, and lab coat called with a flourish. Her Lizardmen beside her.

"I think interrupting our festivities is going to become a new thing for the bad guys." Lucy commented, earning confirming nods from Evergreen and Erza, and the mages all studied the woman.

"So what are you here for?" Natsu asked in a bored tone.

"The Dragon Slayers." Daphne replied as she grabbed what looked like a whistle.


	83. Decoy

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **DECOY**

The whistle was used to harm the hearing of the dragon slayers, who were now laying on the floor from the pain of the frequency from the whistle, and Lucy drew her keys out. "Loke! Taurus!" The pair of spirits appeared beside her, seeing as Daphne's Lizardmen were now trying to muscle through the now angry Fairy Tail mages.

"You _must_ be Lucy Heartfilia-chan!" Daphne cooed, making the blond inwardly cringe, and Loke snarled as he punched a Lizardman got too close. "Why do you know me?" Lucy demanded, grabbing her whip, and the glasses wearing woman smirked. "My Master was looking for ya." The hair on the back of Lucy's neck stood up.

"Lucy!" Her eyes strayed down to her feet, where a small glowing circle flashed around her, and she let out a yelp before things blurred around her. Lucy's vision was swimming, everything distorted, and then when it all snapped into focus she gripped the leather of her whip.

"Hello, Lucy-chan." The pink haired woman, owl faced man, and rock obsessed guitar player of Death's Head Caucus were facing her with Daphne in a small chair.

"Who the hell is really calling the shots?" Lucy demanded, knowing Daphne wasn't the one who had called her here, and there was a giggle as Lucy heard a slow clap. The woman that walked into sight made the blonde's eyes widen, a small glimmer of worry filling her, and dark brown eyes narrowed as Ultear faced her completely.

"How did you know that Daphne was a decoy?" Said woman glared at Ultear while Vidaldus Taka laughed.

"Lucky guess." The blond replied, hand on her whip, and Daphne jumped to her feet.

"I'm going to go get my Dragonoid!" The woman was gone in a near instant.


	84. Dark Heart

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **DARK HEART**

Lucy was losing, badly, considering her keys hadn't been transported with her; Trinity Raven had been dispatched to keep watch for any would be rescuers and then the fight had begun. Ultear had used her Ice Make magic, rather than her orb and Arc of Time magic, but the dark haired woman was smart.

But it seemed Lucy's luck had run out. "Play time is over, girl." Ultear commented with a smirk and Lucy looked down as the floor decayed; her body falling into a strange purple liquid. Dark images filled her mind, illusions of her family's deaths and the destruction of Fairy Tail, and the blond felt her head spin.

"Such a beautiful light, a dark light you will be, Lucy Heartfilia your fate is mine to command." Precht Gaebolg, Master Hades, was smiling at her. "Why...me?" Lucy asked as her consciousness began to fade.

"You still don't know?" He laughed, a cruel sound. "Lucy Heartfilia...you are the thing that Lord Zeref has been searching for his entire existence. Within you is the power to break the black curse and end his life...but I can't allow that to happen. Only if you are good, full of light, will you be able to end the dark mage so I will corrupt you." He laughed, a sound so cold that Lucy felt like she'd been dropped into ice.

"Kain. Rustyrose. Go join Trinity Raven and keep the pests away." The two men nodded and seemed to just vanish and Lucy had dark spots dancing in her eyes.

 _'I need help. Please, someone!'_

What she didn't know was that very far away her plea had been heard.


	85. Beat You to Save Her

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **BEAT YOU TO SAVE HER**

Freed and Levy were doing their absolute best to get rid of the runes that were put up, made of singular characters, but those singular characters had many different meanings and that was making it harder on them. Makarov glanced at the two script mages who were working to dispel the characters keeping them in place.

"Master...we have to fight each other." Natsu commented, facing Gray, and Makarov let out a small grumble of annoyance at the way they'd been split up. Mirajane and Erza, Gajeel and Elfman, Laxus and Macbeth, Erik and Jellal, Jet and Droy, Cana and Sorano, with Bisca and Laki as the last pair off.

"Son of a...fight it out until we can break the runes." Makarov relented, watching as Gray and Natsu grinned at one another, and the still grieving Satan Soul mage nodded as her desire to save Lucy won out over her dislike of combat. Plus Erza had been asking for a damn beating with the boasting she'd been doing about her new weapons and armor.

Laxus looked at Macbeth, who smirked, and Erik glared at Jellal; the Poison Dragon Slayer knew he would have to hold back, seeing as he didn't want to kill the blue haired mage, and Gajeel grinned as he faced Elfman.

"They're treating it like a real fight." Makarov whispered, more to himself, and Bickslow groaned in annoyance.

"Card Magic! Summoned Lightning!" "Crystal Magic, Pearl Nullification!"

"Oh for the love of-" Makarov grunted as a hard force collided with his back.

"Watch it!" Juvia shouted as she dodged a blast of fire.

"Juvia does not like this!" The water mage cried out as she dodged a bolt of lightning.

"They're trying to take out our strongest."


	86. Shadows Beckon

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **SHADOWS BECKON**

 _Lucy_

There was a pulsing feeling, like something was pressing on her head, and the Celestial Spirit Mage could feel _something_ trying to get her attention.

 _Little Mother, come back to us!_

The voice was deep and low yet raspy at the same time, she wasn't sure how, it was calling to her as well as a softer and sweeter voice.

 _My child do not let them win._

The voice was familiar but Lucy wasn't able to pull herself out of the darkness.

" _Her magic is flaring up again."_ That was Meredy's voice.

" _Increase the dosage of the tranquilizer."_ That from Hades.

" _We cannot risk her unlocking her full potential yet, if she does then she could easily destroy us all."_ Ultear sounded, dare she assume, scared?

A surge of something bolstered her, calling to her, and Lucy felt that magic grow within her. The blond called on a single spell, her one hope, and the Eighty Eight stars rained down as she used Urano Metria; the darkness faded, leaving a swell of light, and the blond teen saw the destroyed building around her. Hades, Ultear, Meredy, and the rest of Grimoire Heart glared at her before taking to the air ship.

"Daphne is in the council's custody, she's useless, let's go. We _will_ meet again, Lucy." Precht swore before he simply vanished with the others.

Brown eyes landed on the shadows, which she had thought were moving, and she smiled to herself.

 _Skiadrum...thank you._

The blond had seen the flash of the adult dragon, with his tendrils of magic and dark form, and knew that he'd somehow reached out to her. But the other voice...it wasn't Artemis or even her mother.

It was...Mavis.


	87. Dragonoid

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **DRAGONOID**

It was utterly ridiculous that they were dealing with this now, Lucy was missing and they had to fight off this fake ass dragon thing, Gajeel grunted in annoyance and glanced to where the single runes began to fade away.

"Got it!" Levy shouted, smiling, and Gajeel glanced at the slayers. "Laxus, Erik, and I will handle the robot dragon. We gotta get Natsu out of there so Levy and all the fire users I need you to stay here, we gotta get him fire once we break 'im out." The Iron Dragon was just barking orders.

"Bickslow, Freed, Evergreen. I need you three to find Lucy, your Seith Magic is going to be the fastest way to find her short of a Direct Transfer mage." The trio nodded and Bickslow let his tongue hang out as he tilted his head a bit. "Got it, Gajeel, we'll have her back before breakfast." The trio set out, Bickslow's eyes alight with power as he scanned over the city on top of his wooden totems, and Gajeel turned to face the machine.

"I'll break Salamander out of there, keep Daphne distracted, let's get moving." The group nodded, Monmo and Kasumi picking their slayers up while Happy grabbed Gajeel, and the three exceeds all began doing as many evasive maneuvers as they could seeing as Natsu was getting pissed off with Erza's taunting.

"Gōma Tetsu Rasen!" His right leg became like a cone, his body spinning fast to make it much like a drill, and he tore through the red dome just as Laxus and Erik send a Unison Roar into the mouth of the Dragonoid to destroy its ability to spew flames.

"Fuckin' Salamander. Let's go, meal time." Natsu grunted as Gajeel picked him up, Happy carting them down to the others, and the fire dragon slayer belched loudly after eating a group of flame based attacks sent his way.


	88. Hide and Seek

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 **HIDE AND SEEK**

Evergreen glanced to the team leader, the normally jovial mage was so serious, and she knew he was searching for the blond girl with all his power. Freed, who was usually silent, took it upon himself to fill the void.

"I have Lucy-sama's keys as well. When we get close enough I'm sure Loke will make an appearance." Evergreen nodded and Bickslow huffed. "We don't need a stupid lion to help us, we're her Knights." The Seith Mage replied with a hurt tone.

A glow of gold formed and they blinked at Caelum, the little orb beeping twice and streaking through the air, and Evergreen huffed as they followed the spirit. The destroyed building, a Fairy Tail calling card, was their destination and as the Celestial Spirit flew down toward the rubble Bickslow jumped from his babies and ran.

His arms closed around her form, skin slightly burned and hair wet with some purple liquid, his ear pressing against her chest to check for a heartbeat. Strong, steady, and _alive_. "Princess. You gave me a coronary." He breathed out, cradling her in his arms, and Evergreen sneered as she looked around.

"What is this place?" The reply came from Freed, to the left, who held up a damaged paper. "The former base of Grimoire Heart." Evergreen's eyes narrowed. "That's one of the three major guilds in the Balam Alliance, Tartaros and the Oracion Seis are the other two." Freed nodded. "Whatever they were after...they're gone now. We need to get Lucy-sama back to Porlyusica." The Rune Mage reminded them.

"Agreed. Freed and Evergreen, stay here and see if you can find out why they want Princess. If you don't find anything in half an hour then come home." The two members of his team nodded.

"On it, boss." Ever replied before Bickslow took off once more.


	89. Research

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **RESEARCH**

It had been a month since Fantasia, Lucy had sat out of the parade once it was apparent that she wasn't going to be fully well enough after the ordeal, and she was sitting with her Knights in the guild library. "Oi, Princess, got you lunch." Bickslow set the soup and smoothie down, forcing Lucy to break from her book, and she began eating without arguing. After Phantom, when she'd given him the slip, and her kidnapping he was clingier than ever; she took it in stride though.

"Thanks Bicks, I get distracted so easily when I'm doing any research. But Freed and Ever...you two are such a great help." Lucy couldn't help but enjoy how much they cared for her and she knew now why Laxus treasured them, they were easy to get along with and easy to be close to, plus Bickslow didn't baby her in the traditional sense of the word. That was the job of the dragon slayers. Bickslow, Freed, and Evergreen were her bros.

"You're thinking that Mavis, the First Master, is a child of Artemis?" Freed asked, looking through any other books he could find, and Lucy nodded. "Yes, it would make sense with the names and all, but I _heard_ her when they had me in that potion. Mavis was calling to me...I know it." Lucy would never forget the voice of the First Master, she'd been so gentle and sweet, and Freed hummed as he grabbed another book.

"This would be easier if there was a celestial spirit who-" Lucy's eyes twinkled, she had more power this time around...Crux had to know something. "Crux-jiji, I need your help." He was one of the few she didn't need the formal summons for.


	90. Heritage

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **HERITAGE**

Crux was thinking, she knew, and her eyes closed as she thought more on the fact that Skiadrum had somehow reached out to her; that alone made her wonder if she could reach out to _all_ the dragons or if it was just because he could use the shadows as a means to transport himself. "Aha!" The cross shot awake, startling her Knights, and Lucy giggled a bit at their reaction. It never got old.

"Lucy, dear, it's true that you're related to Fairy Tail's Founding Master. But..." He looked nervous and she didn't like it. "But…?" His eyes softened as he peered at her, he'd been passed through her family for generations and she was the absolute strongest of all his owners so far, he had a soft spot for the girl who offered him peace and freedom.

"The reason Hades said that Zeref is after you...is because when Artemis was dying Zeref gave her something. He'd...he had loved Artemis and she denied him, denied his obsession with bringing someone back from the dead...but he couldn't stand to see her hurt." Lucy's eyes fell, knowing he'd loved her...she wondered why he'd let his demons kill her before.

"Zeref...in the first time-line she didn't live and so he grieved and killed in his sadness. This time around she survived...barely so considering Grandine was very weak...Zeref gave her some of his magic. The last bit of light inside of him." Lucy blinked, alarmed, and Crux finished that statement exactly how she hoped he wouldn't.

"That bit of light was transferred to her second born child, a child who had no father, and the power was transferred to the first born after that. Every one of those daughters was born with golden hair, brown eyes, and a Celestial Spirit Mage. Mavis was the only one to break the pattern...but that was because fate intervened with her story."


	91. Resolve

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **RESOLVE**

Bickslow, Freed, and Evergreen were staring at her, amazed after hearing her story of changing time; Lucy felt exhausted, more mentally tired than physically, and now she knew why _she_ had been the one the dragons went to. The last bit of Zeref's light was within her and when she used that power against him...it would help break the curse when her own magic was added to bolster that small spark.

It meant that she had to be the one to fight Zeref...in the end. A small quiver of fear ran through her, Zeref was terrifying in the regard that he could easily kill most people, and yet she knew that she wouldn't ever back down. Her pride wouldn't allow for that.

"I need to train more, to get stronger, I need to be able to stand firm when I go to fight him." Lucy suddenly declared, her fists clenched, but she'd forgotten a small detail about the time line. It was November of the year X784, November 14th to be exact, and she'd forgotten about one very important detail when she set her resolve.

Anima.

The following day, when she was heading toward the guild hall with her dragon slayers and Knights walking around her (since she wasn't allowed to go anywhere without an escort anymore) was when Anima opened. Bickslow, Freed, and Evergreen reached out as they started getting pulled in but Laxus, Gajeel, and Erik made sure to hold them down; Lucy had lifted off the ground only to have Natsu take her hand and tuck her close to him.

The town was gone, in less than two minutes, and she looked around. "Mystogan!" She called out, seeing as he'd been the one to help her before, and she heard the sound of footsteps.


	92. Edolas

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **EDOLAS**

His eyes took in the group of four dragon slayers and four regular mages as well as three exceeds, an oddball group to be sure, and Mystogan slid off his mask. "I don't have much time to explain." He began, holding up his hand to stop any comments, and the masked mage continued. "I am the alternate world version of Jellal, from the land of Edolas, Magnolia has been taken to Edolas and made into a giant lacrima crystal that will be used to power the royal city. You all need to stop that from happening." He took the small vial of what looked like berries and made them all each eat one.

"That will allow you to use magic in Edolas. Now go. I'm going to look for any other survivors before following you." Lucy nodded and looked at the others. "We've got to fly up into the portal. Happy grabbed Natsu, Monmo had Laxus, Kasumi took Erik, Freed grabbed Gajeel, and Bickslow carried Lucy up into the swirling mass as Evergreen flew beside them.

When they arrived in Edolas they were flying in the air over a bunch of floating islands, Lucy searching for anything familiar, and she pointed over at the largest of the islands. "We can't stay in the air too long. Let's go that way." The group nodded and flew down, not wanting to waste their magic, and they looked around.

"We have to find a town so I can figure out where we are." Freed hummed and Bickslow activated his Figure Eyes; he was checking the furthest of his sight for large groups of people. "That way." He pointed, earning a nod, and they took off at a brisk jog to make their way over to where the town was. Lucy's eyes raised, searching the skies, and she knew that they had to hurry.

* * *

 **They have arrived in the lovely land of Edolas.**


	93. Getting Sycca Your Shit

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **GETTING SYCCA YOUR SHIT**

Irritated couldn't begin to describe how she felt, in this moment, as Lucy walked ahead of the others; they'd found a small village named Wesselton, which Natsu had called Weaseltown and pissed the mayor off, and all Lucy knew was that they had to go northeast to Louen. From there she would have to go West to the royal city

"Why are we going to Louen?" Lucy glanced at her pink haired best friend. "To find someone." Hopefully Edo-Lucy was in that damn city too, otherwise this was dumb, and Lucy frowned slightly. "Why not just stay in Sycca for the night? It's getting dark and I'm getting tired." Evergreen commented, her eyes looking up, and Lucy glanced at her.

"I told you to take the boots, you're the one still in heels, this is why you listen to me for once." Evergreen's eyes shone with mock hurt and Lucy sighed. "Ever...I'm so sick of your shit." The mumble of the word made Bickslow grin.

"What was that, Princess? You're Sycca her shit?" Lucy smacked his arm, making him laugh, and Erik was laughing too since he enjoyed puns. "Alright, alright, we'll stop." Evergreen wailed joyfully about her mercy and they moved more to the west, the blond stretched her arms and had Happy scout ahead for them.

"It's not too much further." He explained as he flew back. "In fact it'd be better to fly for a bit, there's nobody around, but I'm not carrying Lucy. She's too heavy." Hurt and annoyance shone on her face and the blond snapped her mouth shut before Bickslow scooped up her.

"Princess ain't heavy, furball, you're just weak." Happy's eyes widened and Natsu growled in warning. "Enough! Stop it! Let's go." The blond female snapped, pointing, and Bickslow smirked at the others.


	94. Convenient

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **CONVENIENT**

They had found her, the blond Edolas counterpart to Lucy was staring at them as Lucy stood frozen, and the Celestial Mage wondered if she remembered like Porlyusica had or if it was just because the pink haired woman was supposed to be in Edolas but wasn't.

"You...you look like me!" Lucy nodded and grinned. "I'm Lucy Heartfilia. The Lucy from Earthland." A strange haze filled the eyes of Edo-Lucy, almost like a mist, and then her eyes gleamed. "Earth Lucy!" The two hugged and Edo-Lucy clapped her on the back rather rough.

"Right. So I turned back time...and..uhh...now we have to rebel against the Kingdom all over again?" Edo-Lucy laughed. "Good, I was getting bored, so there's Natsu!" Said mage blinked and looked confused. "He doesn't remember. None of them do. Alternate time-lines." Edo-Lucy let out a harsh laugh.

"Yea, that clock of yours is the one that just returned my memories." That made the Celestial Spirit Mage look at her keys. "Horologium can do that?!" It would be so much easier than telling the story over two hundred times. _'I apologize, Lucy-hime, but I can only do it to Edolas' Lucy since she is your alternate.'_ The blond let out a sigh.

"Hey, you're letting your hair grow." Edo-Lucy commented, playing with Earth Lucy's long ponytail, and that earned a smile. "Yep. Still want yours cut?" Edo-Lucy blushed and nodded. "Y-yes, please. N-natsu really liked it the last time." Erik smirked and nudged their Natsu, who blushed, and Earth Lucy let out a giggle.

"Sure. We need to rest for the night though." Edo-Lucy nodded and booked a large room for them. "Twin sister." She commented to the owner, who had been looking at them, and he nodded before offering a wave.

As they entered the large room Edo-Lucy grinned. "Let's go get a bath, Earth Lucy."


	95. Triple Lucy Bath Bonanza

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **TRIPLE LUCY BATH TOWEL BONANZA**

"You have scars this time around. Huh...so we don't match anymore...boo!" Edo-Lucy opened the door to the room, in nothing but a towel, and Lucy sighed as she stepped out. "Seriously? This again? I'd appreciate it if you didn't just walk out here." Edo-Lucy snickered. "What if the guys wanted a show?" Her sly smile was one that Lucy didn't like.

"Don't." Edo-Lucy's eyes widened. "Call that spirit, Gemini, come on pleaseeeee?" Lucy sighed. "Gemini, Edo-Lucy wants to say hello." The twin spirits appeared, as Lucy, in a bath towel. "Wait...you haven't copied me again since the Grand Magic Games?!" Lucy wailed, earning a cute shake of the head, and Gajeel swallowed the lump in his throat.

With all the arm swinging that Lucy was doing her breasts were jostling and the towel was getting more and more loose, naturally the men were watching (other than Freed since he was scarlet and turned away) but Evergreen swatted them all with her fan. "Enough. Morons. Go get dressed, Princess." Lucy nodded and grabbed her Edolas counterpart, her spirit following, and they returned minutes later fully clothed.

"Killjoy." Laxus muttered to Evergreen, who swatted him again, and Gajeel smirked as the two Lucy's sat down while Gemini returned to their normal forms. "Alright, so we need to get you guys to the royal city again to get your friends out of that lacrima." Edo-Lucy grabbed a map and looked at her counter part.

"Just like the good old days." The two blond women said together with matching smiles.


	96. Faint Memories

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **FAINT MEMORIES**

Natsu hadn't been aware of _why_ he was so afraid of Edo-Lucy, her eyes constantly fell on him and this weird smirk almost always made him uncomfortable, and then he figured it out. After one comment too many (the walk to the Royal City was too damn far) the completely insane Scary Lucy let out an aggravated sound before attacking him! "Technique Twelve! The Back Break Bridge!" He screamed as she picked him up and simply bent him over her shoulders, it hurt dammit, all while Lucy tried to bite back her laughter.

"Man...I forgot how funny this was." The blond commented with a grin. "I can teach you, Earth Lucy!" The men shook their heads while Edo-Lucy grinned evilly. "Oh? Your friends don't seem eager at the idea." Lucy raised a brow and looked back at the dragon slayers and her Knights, it was Bickslow who let out a cackle.

"I don't mind, I think it'd be funny to see Princess doing a submission move on someone." Lucy let out a small chuckle and fist bumped him. "At least one of you has my back. You're a real bro, Bicks." He snickered and she cast him a sly smile as Freed and Evergreen snapped into a rigid stance. "I apologize Princess! I was disrespectful not to think of how these abilities could increase your power! Forgive me!" Freed wailed while Evergreen whimpered.

"I'm so sorry, Princess, of course I want you to be strong!" The Fairy Mage cried out. "You're forgiven." Lucy answered with a smile. "Princess is the most kind and forgiving mage ever!" The glasses wearing woman now shouted as Freed thanked her profusely. Gajeel looked over at the others and Edo-Lucy rolled her eyes.

"You're always attracting trouble, aren't ya Earth Lucy?" The blond grinned. "You have no idea. Almost like..." A loud rumbling filled the air.

"That." The two blonde's spoke together as they faced the large Legion.


	97. Knightwalker

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **KNIGHTWALKER**

The redhead scoffed as she looked down at the large group, her gaze falling on the pair of blond women, and her scowl grew to a sneer. "Lucy Ashley, Acting Guild Master of Fairy Tail, you are to be exterminated for running an illegal dark guild. The Fairy Hunter has found her prey." Earth Lucy stepped up. "As if, Erza Knightwalker, you have one chance to back off before I kick your ass back to the palace." Edo-Lucy glanced at her counterpart in surprise, Earth Lucy seemed _far_ more confident this time around, and the group of mages she came with all braced themselves for combat.

"Very well, intruders, you too shall be exterminated. Gravity Core." Lucy smirked and drew out a key. "Libra! Counter the shift in gravity!" The veil wearing spirit appeared beside her, magic flaring, and the orb of magic from the end of Ten Commandments faded away. "Fairy Machine Gun: Leprechaun!" The blasts of golden magic rained out toward Knightwalker, who dodged, and purple runes appeared around her.

"Go, Babies, Baryon Formation!" The Seith Mage's dolls danced before the green blast of power shot out to the immobilized woman, the explosion created a cloud of dust and Edo-Lucy grabbed her whip while Earth Lucy grabbed hers. There was no Virgo, no Taurus, or even Sagittarius this time around; she didn't have Fleuve d'étoiles so if she ran out of power then she was done.

"Ashley!" The redhead had shattered the runes, her spear blazing, and Edo-Lucy snapped her whip out. "Knightwalker!" The whip caught the spear and with a pull of her arm Erza was skidding back before a roar of fire and lightning shot toward her, metal rods erupting from the ground, and Lucy knew Erik was angry since she'd requested he not poison people this time around.

Erza Knightwalker surprised them all with a blast from Ravelt, the Saint Spear.


	98. Royal City

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **ROYAL CITY**

* * *

Erik's plan worked, letting Erza Knightwalker capture them meant her Legion was flying them to the royal city, all it took was letting her think they had limited access to their magic. Gajeel could eat the his restraints in an instant, Laxus could lightning form out, and Erik could corrode the metal.

"Not so strong when your magic is gone, eh?" Erza Knightwalker taunted, making both Lucy's glare at her, and it was Gajeel's murderous glare that made the redhead turn to face them. "You've all got guts, I'll give you that, nobody ever looks at me like that unless they're at the end of Ten Commandments. We'll see how long you last once _he_ gets his hands on you." Lucy's eyes closed, an odd chill running down her spine, there were people in Edolas she hadn't met after all.

Her bad feeling only got worse as they arrived at the city where the crystal sat in the square, which people were surrounding, and the blond glanced at Laxus and the others. Since Gajeel didn't have an Exceed partner he couldn't fly to the larger lacrima to break it open but that was where he'd fought against his partner for the first time.

This time though it seemed luck was on her side. Guarding the lacrima in the square was the tall, buff, and soon to be member of Fairy Tail. Gajeel's cat, Pantherlily.

"Gajeel, you take down the guy with the orange plume on his helmet. You're the only one who can punch through that armor of his." The Iron Dragon nodded. "Edo-Lucy, myself, Freed, Evergreen, and Erik will handle the soldiers; Erik you're gonna have to use your Dragon Slayer magic to break the lacrima. Natsu, Bickslow, and Laxus all handle the giant lacrima up on the island to the east." They nodded and just as the Legion touched down the metal corroded around their wrists.


	99. My First Kiss

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **MY FIRST KISS**

Erik grabbed Lucy's wrist before they could move and slammed his lips to hers, plundering her mouth with his tongue and teeth, and the blond whimpered against him. When he pulled back his eyes were blazing. "I've wanted to do that for a really long time." He explained with a smirk before jumping down to take out the lacrima crystal. Lucy was flushed pink, eyes wide, and Edo-Lucy grabbed her counterpart and pulled her off the Legion. "No time to get all moony, Earth Lucy! We've gotta kick ass!" As her feet touched down Lucy lashed out with her whip and disarmed a soldier before pushing Edo-Lucy away from a blast of magic.

Natsu, Laxus, and Bickslow were already off in the air to get to the lacrima; Lucy dodged a swipe of a sword and looked up at the large blade as it came down to strike her. Distracted, she had been distracted by Erik's damn good kissing abilities and now she was going to get hurt.

* * *

 **Just a PSA to all my lovely readers. Since the next chapter is #100 (omg) it will be a long chapter to celebrate! BANZAI~**


	100. Battle For Edolas

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **BATTLE FOR EDOLAS**

Gajeel's fist slammed into the large blade, his scales activated, while Lucy called out Aries to help protect the citizens; Erza Knightwaker let out a cry of rage as the lacrima cracked and glowed once Erik's roar connected and revealed Erza and Gray in its place. "Eat these." Mystogan had given them the X-Balls for when they freed everyone and the two released mages regarded the trouble around them as Edo-Lucy and Earth Lucy kept Knightwalker on her toes. The redhead Fairy Tail mage narrowed her eyes. "Neither of you will stand up to the Fairy Hunter! I'll kill both of you!" The spear flashed and a slicing sound intervened before Erza Scarlet sent the other redhead _flying_ with a kick.

"You shall not harm my nakama, my Edolas counterpart or not." The redhead looked at Lucy and they shared a smile before the blond female looked at Edo-Lucy. "Do you think you can talk the Edolas Fairy Tail into fighting one last time?" Edo-Lucy bit her lower lip, dodging a strong attack from one of the soldiers, and shook her head. "How would I get them here?" Earth Lucy grinned. "Same way you did last time. One final transport." Edo-Lucy blinked and smiled before breaking out of the fight and sprinting away. "Oi! Where's she goin'?" Erik shouted as he used a low toxicity dose of poison to paralyze the soldiers attacking him. "Getting us some help. Kasumi take the X-Balls up to the others." The red and white Exceed nodded and flew away as Lucy stood back to back with Gray.

"Ready to kick ass, Lucy?" The blond nodded and her eyes blazed before she let Aries go back to the Celestial Spirit world, her keys glowed as she summoned Loke and Caelum. "Alright, you two, it's time to take down an army!" The Lion spirit let out a triumphant roar while his fists glowing gold as Regulus' light coursed through him, and the blond woman grinned as she and Gray stayed close and supported each other. Evergreen and Freed were easily caging up and wiping the floor with the soldiers that were coming down to fight while any that surrounded Erik were paralyzed and dropped. "Lucy!" The back of her neck tingled, making her tense, and she let her legs drop out from under her and used her hands to catch herself on the concrete as Knightwalker's lance shot over her head.

"Sugarboy! Hughes!" Byro was shouting from the top of the palace, summoning the Third and Fourth Regiment Commanders, and Lucy glared at them before looking at Erik. "Sugarboy uses a weapon that softens anything it touches, you'll be the best thing to face him because your poison is already gas or liquid." Erik nodded and grinned. 'Kasumi, let's go kick some ass." The red and white Exceed, who had just returned, let out a soft chuckle. "Sure, boss, but you owe me a nap." The lazy Exceed replied with a saucy wink before grabbing Erik and zipping off to find Sugarboy. "What does Hughes do?" Gray asked as he shot another lance, they really didn't want to kill anyone after all, and Lucy huffed. "He could control the things in the amusement park in the palace. So I don't know..." Gray nodded and smirked. "Well I'll handle Hughes since you're showing me up over here." With Loke and Taurus (and her whip) Lucy was easily cleaning up the east end of the square. "Nah, I'd never show up the stripper." Gray let out a small noise of panic and pulled his pants up before dashing away, Lucy shook her head with a slight smile, and the blond turned to look at the men trying to surround her. "You are too late! Activate Code ETD!" Lucy heard the King bellow. "What is he saying? They didn't absorb any Dragon Slayer magic..." Lucy's eyes narrowed, worried, and she watched as a large chain shot out of the palace.

"No! He's going to destroy Extalia!" Lucy shouted, alarmed, and she looked at Caelum. "Follow me!" The machine beeped twice and flew behind her, Loke staying down to fight the soldiers, and Lucy found a ledge that allowed her to climb onto the chain while Caelum hovered close to her. Gajeel had taught her that every chain had a weak point, you just had to find it, and especially this one since it was so large. "Extalia is doomed if I don't do something!" Lucy replied with a sad look, there was no Wendy and Carla to go warn them this time, and she drew near the mouth. "I just want to know how they powered this." The blond thought to herself absently, knowing that if they'd used any of the magic from the lacrima that it was someone's life, and as she climbed higher she saw Natsu and the others fighting against a horde of Legion.

"You insolent girl!" Lucy heard the voice and ducked as Buster Ma'am swiped over her head, her eyes turning to Pantherlily, and she looked up at him. "Pantherlily how can you let them try to destroy your home?!" Caelum beeped and transformed into his cannon form, Lucy held her hand out to stop him from shooting, and the dark furred exceed glared at her. "What do you know? You're just a human girl from Earthland who doesn't-" Lucy shook her head as she interrupted him. "You're wrong. I'm a mage of Fairy Tail, not just some foolish girl, and I know what they did to you. Those exceeds preach a false God, a Queen with no real power, but you didn't tell anyone about Shagotte because you still care! That place is still your home!" He tensed, his teeth gritting against themselves, and Lucy felt the chain shake as the device roared to life. "Shit! It's gonna destroy Extalia!" Lucy wailed. "Caelum, break the chain!" The blond commanded, knowing that with them as high as they were that the fall could potentially kill her, and Pantherlily stared at her.

"You would sacrifice yourself to save them? A race that lies to everyone?" Lucy stared at him and her eyes softened. "Yes, just as you sacrificed yourself to save a human boy who could grow to despise you had he been raised the way he was meant to." The chain wavered as the beam of pink light hit it and it whipped out in its break and smashed Caelum hard enough to send him back, her eyes closed as she waited to fall, and she heard Gajeel scream her name from the base of the chain. "Heh, I ran pretty far didn't I?" She asked, more to herself, but she couldn't find it in her to regret it; the chain had one weak point and she had been looking for that, finding it half way was simply a coincidence. Strong hands wrapped around her waist, her body stopping its descent, and she looked up at Pantherlily as he held her in the air. "Your friend, Gajeel, said that he knew I was a good person...but what kind of good person would let someone destroy their very home?" Lucy chuckled. "Everyone makes choices based on their heart, you were betrayed and angry with nowhere to turn, but its having friends to keep you on the right path that matters." Lucy replied with a smile.

"You Fairy Tail mages...you really are something." Lucy smiled as he lowered her to the ground and turned her head to look at the sound of something rumbling, the King was shouting about power now that most of his army was defeated, and the two Erza's both stood frozen as Droma Anima emerged. "What...is that?" Evergreen shouted in alarm as Lucy studied it. No magic worked on it, or so he said, due to the metal of its shell; her eyes narrowed, her heart thudding in her chest, and she watched as the giant lacrima crystal vanished. Mystogan had arrived, it seemed, and her eyes closed in relief. "It doesn't matter if we have magic or not! We'll still take you down!" Lucy Ashley cried out, her eyes blazing as she stood with Edolas' Fairy Tail, and the two blonde females exchanged smiles. "You dare resist the King?" Knightwalker shouted with a loud cry of alarm.

"We'll resist anyone who tries to oppress our happiness, our freedoms, and our way of life. We're Fairy Tail!" Lucy Ashley called out in reply, her eyes narrowed, and the blond woman charged toward Knightwalker as the redhead ran to meet her. Erza Scarlet glanced at Lucy, who shook her head, and the two Edolas women met in a flurry of punches and dodges; the Dragon Slayers were combining their might against Droma Anima, and the Exceed Royal Army was now flying overhead to investigate the odd claims of the pink haired boy that said the Edolas King was trying to destroy Extalia. "This is getting too out of hand." Lucy looked around and grabbed two keys once she closed Loke's gate. "Open, Gate of the Serpent Bearer, Ophiuchus! Open, Gate of the Paired Fish, Pisces!" The large snake and equally large fish appeared around her, the clouds darkening, and Lucy looked at them. "That machine, do your best against it!" The snake let out a hiss while Pisces wailed in reply and lunged, Lucy watched in awe as Ophiuchus' fangs gleamed with a green liquid and gripped the metal arm; the plating hissed as the green liquid began to slowly eat away at it.

"W-wow! Ophiuchus' poison is melting the plating?" Mystogan landed behind her and nodded. "Yes. Celestial Spirit Magic works on a separate plane than most magics since you summon spirits from another world, while magic dampening materials can hinder your ability to open gates they can't stop it if you've got enough power." Lucy blinked at him for a moment and Mystogan smiled. "I had taken an interest in your magic, Miss Lucy, since you were the one to first find me...I apologize if I seem too forward but I..." He blushed and Lucy's brows shot up. "A-ano...I'm flattered really but...you...ah…?" He laughed and nodded. "I understand, really, seeing as I look exactly like Jellal and I know you have a crazy thing going on with the Dragon Slayers. Everyone knows it since they're so possessive of you." Lucy blushed, by this time she'd told all the slayers about the fact that she'd altered the time lines, and she heard a loud cry of pain and turned to see Pisces fading away. "Pisces!" Her angry roar seemed to echo through the air before she heard Gajeel let out bark of laughter. "You've done it now, Faust!" Natsu called out with a cheeky grin.

Lucy's body began to glow as she called on as much raw power as she could, Ophiuchus' gate closed before he could get caught in the crossfire, and Gemini appeared beside her before becoming her at her highest power level. "What magic is this?" Pantherlily asked as the sheer amount of power seemed to dampen the air and make it hard to breathe. "The ultimate magic of the stars." Mystogan answered with a smile. "Urano Metria!" The explosions rocked the ground, shattering the hard packed earth and colliding with Droma Anima, and Lucy felt Gemini's gate close as the sudden decrease in her magic made her dizzy. Droma Anima was dented, one arm having fallen off, and the tail was bent at an odd angle; it was obvious though that Faust had lost control since the machine was sparking dangerously. Lucy stumbled back into Lily's arms and Natsu lunged through the machine and wrenched the King from within, the streams of glowing gold magic from the ground and air shimmered into focus as both Lily and Lucy realized that Mystogan had left them.

"Lucy!" Gajeel scooped her up in his arms, almost crushing her into his chest, and she let out a breathy chuckle against him as she gripped his tunic to hold herself steady. "Just dizzy." She answered softly, leaning her forehead against his chest, and he tilted her head up and pressed his lips to hers in a kiss that stole the rest of her breath. It wasn't as hard or demanding as Erik's but just as passionate, it made her knees just as weak, and when she pulled back for air he nuzzled his cheek against hers. "You were my friend and you betrayed me!" Lucy Ashley's voice called out as she kicked Erza Knightwalker so hard the redhead hit a pillar, her spear gone, and the Second Regiment Commander recovered and lunged; both girls holding each other by the throat. "I didn't betray you, Ashley, you turned your back on the Kingdom." The blond hissed. "The Kingdom became a tyranny that gave its own people no freedom, only those in the Royal City were allowed to be anything more than poor. I can't support a King who would turn his back on his people and I thought you were the same. You were a part of Fairy Tail!" Lucy Ashley raised her leg in a display of magnificent flexibility and kicked Erza in the head, earning the ability to breathe easier as the redhead was forced to release her neck, and Lucy Ashley stood over her.

"It's over. The King has been defeated, magic is vanishing from Edolas, and now the Kingdom is basically destroyed. The Prince is home to take charge and make changes...but I can't turn away from my friends. Come _home_ Erza." Tears were shining in those chocolate eyes. "Yea, Erza, we've missed you!" Natsu called with a grin, Levy smirking beside him as Jet and Droy claimed it strong to cry (seeing as they were) while Mirajane and Elfman both smiled warmly. "You...would still take me back?" Erza's eyes lowered. "I killed-" Lucy crouched down. "No, you didn't, they all survived thanks to Wendy. Rob, Laxus, Macao, Romeo...they're all here." Lucy motioned to where the mentioned list emerged, the old man offering a warm smile, and Lucy's eyes widened at Edo-Laxus. He was still large, built, but his hair was longer and more like his teenage days; he had on tight black leather pants, no shirt so his tattoo was filly visible, and chunky combat boots; honestly Lucy thought he looked quite sexy but it was the look on his face that made her realize she wouldn't have been as comfortable with him, Edo-Laxus looked so _gentle_ that she thought it more like Romeo trying to play bad ass.

"Yes, Erza, we still love you. We're Fairy Tail, remember? Our strength is yours, our hearts are yours, our faith is yours, and we share all our problems and fears and worries. Now come home." Erza Knightwalker began to cry, clinging to Edo-Lucy, and the Earthland mages felt the tug of magic as the anima began pulling them back. "Ah! Bye bye Edo-Lucy!" The two blonde females clapped each other in a high five and Mystogan waved at them from his place on the rubble of the destroyed palace, even the Exceeds began to glow as they too were pulled away, and Lucy looked at Edolas one last time before glancing at her Dragon Slayers and grinning. "Lucy!" Her eyes shot down as she watched Edo-Gajeel run over to Edo-Lucy and pull her into his arms, kissing her just as he pulled her into his arms and draped her backward dramatically; her arms wrapped around his shoulders as she kissed him back and Lucy laughed. "We aren't so different it seems." Lucy shouted, earning the bird, and she laughed until the tears came.

But with their return came a long lost friend. Lisanna was home.

* * *

 **I hope you don't mind but I focused primarily on Lucy and Edo-Lucy for this chapter simply because I gave Lucy quite a bit of a power boost compared to where she was in the first time line but with no real show of it. I'm not the greatest at fight scenes, I'll admit that, but the Edolas Arc to me personally was always more about the camaraderie of Fairy Tail in _both_ worlds. I sort of wanted to showcase that some more and I plan to do a few chapters in the now magic free Edolas to show Mystogan's return as King and Erza's return to Fairy Tail. As well as Edo-Lucy and her Edo-Harem :P  
**

 **I ask for your patience with updates, I just started a new job three days ago (hurray!) and my girlfriend and I just bought a house so I haven't been able to really sit down and write like I had last month with the upcoming move and the new work environment. I'll still do 2 updates a day for Raising Dragons, seeing as the chapters aren't huge, and Clean Slate will most likely be updated every Sunday. Thanks for all the fantastic reviews, all the amazing support, and for helping me get over the jitters of posting a new chapter. :)**


	101. The Action

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **THE ACTION**

* * *

As always there was a party at Fairy Tail, to celebrate the return of Lisanna, and like it always did the party ended in disaster when the building was nearly toppled over from the drunk brawl that started. Lucy sat perched on the stool nearest to the end, Mira across from her, that following morning; the Satan Soul mage had figured out that something was up with Lucy when the blond had a knowing look on her eyes when Lisanna was returned to them. Lucy had always been intelligent but there was a limit shy of knowing the future.

"So you altered time?" Mirajane asked softly, everyone else still asleep, and Lucy nodded. "Yes, I know everyone deserves to know but there are things that are different so I can't say for sure if what I knew is still the same. Before I didn't have Pisces, Libra, or Ophiuchus; I had Virgo, Taurus, and Sagittarius' keys. I was also a lot weaker, magically that is." Lucy glanced at the sleeping figures. "Before Gajeel tortured me since he was a part of Phantom Lord, Erik was also a part of a Dark Guild named Oracion Seis, Laxus went berserk and tried to take over the guild…I've changed so much that I can't even use most of what I knew to be true." Mirajane smiled and placed a hand on Lucy's.

"It's okay to be unsure, to be unaware, but you don't have to hide that from us. Considering we got turned into a giant lacrima crystal and sent to another world…I'm pretty sure your story will be more widely accepted." Lucy glanced at Mirajane, smiling in thanks, and glanced at where Gajeel was sleeping with Panther curled on his shoulder before moving her gaze to everyone else. They deserved to know.

* * *

 **So I have decided that I plan to do another story, much like this one, except it will focus on the new Edolas with Mystogan as King. Keep your eyes open for 'The King has Returned'**

 **I'll make sure to mark it as the sister story to Raising Dragons of course~**


	102. The Reaction

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **THE REACTION**

It was quiet as everyone simply stared at her, their eyes wide, and the silence hung heavy in the room. After hearing about Tenroujima, which was coming up in the next month, as well as the Grand Magic Games and even Tartaros...it was a lot to take in. Everyone stared at Lucy, she'd ended the spell to save the dragons despite knowing things would change, and she shifted uncomfortably.

"You always did seem to know a lot more than you let on." Macao commented after a minute or two, his eyes twinkling slightly, and Wakaba nodded in agreement. "Yea...hey wait! You could have warned me that my wife lets herself go." He snapped, annoyed, and Lucy glared at him.

"You love her don't you? Asshole." The last word was muttered under her breath but earned laughter from her slayers. "So you've got different keys this time?" Gray asked, curious, and Lucy nodded. "Yes. I had Virgo, Taurus, and Sagittarius before. This time I've got Pisces, Libra, and Ophiuchus. But apparently all the keys were meant to be mine...I just don't understand why." Freed looked at her.

"Could this have something to do with you holding the last of Zeref's light, perhaps?" Lucy glanced at him and shrugged. "I really don't know." The blond looked around and realized that nobody was claiming her to be crazy, nobody was asking her to go into explicit details about their future, and now they seemed _more_ understanding than before.

"Guys...thank you." Sorano hugged Lucy tightly. "Lucy...you were _brave_ to do what you did. We're lucky to have you as our nakama." The blond began to cry while Angel sighed softly.

"You're so mature but you're such a cry baby."


	103. Blast from the Past

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **BLAST FROM THE PAST**

* * *

Lucy was smiling as she walked beside Natsu, Erza and Gray just in front of them, when she noticed two smaller girls and a flying cat walking alongside someone their age; Sherry, Chelia, Carla, and Wendy. The blond almost froze, her body wanting to lock up, but she managed to keep walking. Only for Gray to freeze as Lyon joined the group, his eyes wide, and Lucy noticed that Lyon had frozen too.

"Gray?" Erza prompted, her eyes concerned, and Lyon's hands began to glow. "You!" The Ice Make mage of Lamia Scale practically roared, his eyes blazing, and Gray was ready to fight back. "Oi! Both of you!" Lucy finally snapped, moving to stand in between them, her stance tense as she held a hand up to each of them.

"I don't care what your issues are, _children_ , we're not doing this in the middle of the street." Lucy commanded, her eyes moving between the two men, and Gray relaxed while Lyon stood ready to make something. The blond female glanced at him and scowled.

"Fine." Lyon snapped, seeing the concerned looks he was getting from Sherry and the girls, and the group set off away from town. As they stood around each other, Gray staring at the white haired boy, Lucy put her hands on her hips and let out a loud sigh. "Alright, now you can try to kill each other." The blond commented dryly.

"You're not very nice, are you?" Sherry asked with a sneer.

"Says the woman sneering at me? You're _real_ cute." Lucy answered with a bite to her comment.

"A-ano...please don't fight." Wendy spoke up gently, her eyes shifting between the two older men.

"I'll kill you! Your drive for revenge got Ur killed!" Lyon yelled out, hands flaring, and Gray didn't make a move.


	104. Saving You

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **SAVING YOU**

* * *

Gray wasn't moving, the blade of ice was sailing toward him and he wasn't making a move to fight back or block it; Lucy's eyes widened, her heart racing, and she used her whip to shatter the attack and moved to stand in front of Gray. The Ice Make mage stared at her back as she stood between him and Lyon. "I'll kill you too, you melon chested bimbo." Lyon snapped, his eyes narrowed, and a massive flare of heat filled the clearing.

"How _dare_ you talk to her like that." Natsu hissed, his eyes dangerous, and Lucy let out a sharp growl that made him dial back the fire. His eyes met hers and she shook her head. "Natsu, don't get involved." The blond warned, she wouldn't let his words hurt her, and the Fire Dragon backed down with a growl of warning.

"So the bimbo is your keeper?" Lyon asked with a sneer, not realizing Lucy had already walked over to him, and she slapped him. Hard.

"I already told you about how I could care less what your problem is, right? Well let me rephrase that. We all have shitty pasts, I lost my parents when I was five years old to some dark guild taking out the train they were on. Natsu's father up and vanished. Erza was a _slave_ to some fucking Zeref worshipping cult that wanted her to build some crazy ass tower to bring back the dead. You lost your guardian because she loved Gray enough to risk her life for him. It's over." Lucy looked at the person before her.

"There is _nothing_ you can do to change the past and trust me when I say that revenge is not worth it." Lucy took his hands, which had been trembling, and looked him straight on.


	105. From the Heart

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **FROM THE HEART**

* * *

Lyon's eyes never left her, his body trembling, and he let out a strangled sob before his expression cracked; he coated his fist in ice and lunged, his expression bordering insane and grieving. Lucy stood firm, ready to take the blow, but a stone hand got in the way. Sherry was crying but her eyes were focused on her teammate. "Lyon you have to stop this." While it was true that the Deliora had killed Ur, Sherry and Chelia's families, Toby's family, and Yuka's family...Lucy was right that it was over.

"I lost my mother because of him!" Lyon replied as he turned the entire stone golem into ice, shattering it, and Lucy walked over to him and hugged him. "Lyon Vastia, listen to me." She whispered, her voice calm, and he was still in her hold. Lucy had many memories of trying to come to grips with losing her own parents, twice, but she had her nakama to help her so she hadn't been lost.

"Even if you do attack Gray, or kill Gray, then you'll just lose your brother too; I want you to tell me what Ur would say if you were in her arms now, if she knew you wanted to kill your own brother." The white haired mage was frozen, tears on his cheeks, and Lucy knew the team was watching her very carefully.

"She would tell me that holding onto my anger is what pushed me to a level that taking any life seemed okay." Lyon replied, his voice muffled since she'd pressed his face into her shoulder, and Lucy nodded. "There are times as mages we have to do things we regret, taking a life or standing by while someone else does, but to be a good mage you have to hold a value on all lives."


	106. Give me Time

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **GIVE ME TIME**

* * *

Lyon took a deep breath, reigning in the desire to sob, and blushed as the blond rubbed circles on his back and hummed a soft melody. He'd forgotten about the others, in that one blissful moment, and when Gray spoke up it almost startled him. Almost.

"Lyon...you don't know how long I blamed myself for what happened. I still do. If I hadn't gone after the Deliora then Ur would still be here, if I hadn't tried to play strong I wouldn't have lost my mother or brother...revenge wasn't worth the price I paid." Gray was on his hands and knees, his voice rough, and Lucy let Lyon go so the male could look over Gray.

"I can't...not right now. I can't forgive you now, I need time." Lyon had to rethink everything, he had always known where Gray was after reading about the 'Ice Lord' but he'd been prepared to kill him then. He needed time to think, come to terms with his loss, and then he would sit and talk.

Wendy shifted so she was beside Lucy, tapping the girl's hand, and Lucy looked down at the girl. "Thank you." Wendy whispered, earning a soft smile, and Lucy nodded gently. "I was there before, most of us from Fairy Tail were actually, that place where you can't seem to forgive anyone or anything. Your own anger and feelings overwhelm you...it's hard to get out of that swirling pit of emotions. Lyon will need time but as long as you all stand by him...he'll be fine." Lucy noticed the awed look on the sky dragon slayer's face and blushed.

"I'm Wendy Marvell, the sky dragon slayer, and that's Chelia Blendy who is the sky god slayer; her older cousin is Sherry Blendy, she uses doll magic, and you know Lyon." Lucy nodded and watched the Lamia Scale group leave, now that Lyon had said his piece to Gray.

* * *

 **Lucy has a soft spot for people who have bad pasts, which is pretty much everyone in the show I guess...? But she didn't want Gray and Lyon to end up hurting each other and potentially ruining any chances of friendship. They'll fight though, trust me.**

 **I WILL be using the Key to the Starry Sky arc as canon in my story. There is an Oracion Seis but it's not who it was before (obviously), and Brain is the leader while Klodoa is his adviser. I'm not telling who it is yet, so I hope you enjoy the surprise when it hits. Gotta get through Tenroujima first.**


	107. Tough Choices

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **TOUGH CHOICES**

* * *

Makarov Dreyar was staring at the pictures on his desk, his eyes closed in thought, and his S-Class mages sitting before him. Gildarts, Laxus, Mirajane, Erza, Jellal, Cana, Sorano, Bickslow, Erik, and Macbeth were all looking at him expectantly.

"Seeing as we can't use what Lucy knew to be true in the first time-line as absolute fact...I don't want to get too concerned over the idea of our exams being ruined. But if it does happen..." Erza nodded in understanding.

"We need some of our more recognizable and stronger members to remain here, at the guild, to prevent the guild building from being lost at the very least. I could care less about the position as 'the number one guild in Fiore' seeing as we can earn that back." The redhead commented softly.

"If Grimoire Heart does attack does attack someone has to be there to help Ultear and Meredy when the get away from Tenroujima. I shall not join you for the S-Class exams, I'll stay here." Jellal decided while Erza glanced at him, her eyes searching his face, and she smiled at him softly.

"I'll remain here as well." Macbeth spoke up, earning a nod from Makarov, and Sorano giggled. "Me too." The old man regarded the trio of teens before him, all survivors from a Hell they'd been rescued from. It was the last volunteer that surprised everyone. "I'll stay." Erik declared, his eyes firm, and Laxus glanced at him in surprise.

"The more of us that stay here to protect the guild building...the less likely anyone is to lose their home. Besides that I can keep an eye on Wendy, Sting, and Rogue while Lucy is away." Laxus studied the teen and nodded. "Natsu, Gajeel, and I will protect her." Erik's gaze shifted to him and he nodded.

* * *

 _We've reached the Arc that I think everyone was the most excited about. Ha ha. Yes the exams are still on Tenroujima. I hope you're excited about this one because I am._


	108. The Announcement

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **THE ANNOUNCEMENT**

* * *

Lucy stood beside the rest of the guild as Makarov stood on a stage with the rest of the S-Class mages, the guild understood what could possibly come to be so most of them were ready to step up in the event that some of their nakama did vanish.

"The candidates for this year are already set in teams, there are ten total entries this year. We will be selecting two mages to take the title of S-Class and have broken the ten candidates into pairs." Erza explained as she looked among her nakama.

"Lucy Heartfilia and Natsu Dragneel." The pair gave each other a high five in celebration as Gajeel rolled his eyes, Lucy had told them she wanted to be Natsu's partner this time around since he'd picked Happy before.

"Evergreen and Elfman Strauss." The couple blushed, it was well known they were together but they never let themselves get cute in public. Nobody missed the proud smile on their faces.

"Levy McGarden and Mest Gryder." Levy had been selected because she was extremely observant, she could keep an eye on the mage and possibly learn what he'd been searching for the first time around. The council wasn't as angry with them this time but for some reason he'd still come and tried to alter Makarov's memories.

"Juvia Lockster and Freed Justine." With Juvia spending a lot of time with Bickslow it meant she also spent time with Freed, they knew each other's magic well and he already had several strategies that would work for them.

"Lisanna Strauss and Gajeel Redfox." Seeing as Lisanna had been in Edolas for so long she'd been training non-stop but still needed a strong partner, they could trust Gajeel to make sure she was okay, and he nodded at her while she offered a tentative smile of her own.

* * *

 _Those are the teams for the S-Class exams. Giving my NaLu fans some love here since I haven't made too many NaLu moments._


	109. Warm Up

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **WARM UP**

Slender limbs closed around her weapon of choice, the blond had learned how to ex-quip and had a small enough space to store her whip and a short blade that Gajeel had made for her, Lucy had decided to learn more than just a whip and so she'd always trained her hand-to-hand combat. Erza and Gajeel had made her learn how to use a blade this time and for that she was glad, Natsu faced her with a grin and she lunged for him.

They had a week to train, to get stronger, and all of the contestants were taking advantage of it. Gray had been miffed that he hadn't been chosen but Makarov had given him a job of his own, he had to help the S-Class protect the guild. He had immediately been laughing at the fact that he'd be seven years ahead of Natsu if they did wind up missing.

The fire dragon slayer dodged her intended strike and she rolled out of the way of a flaming punch, silently blessing the tailor in the city that created clothing specifically for mages and had properties to resist burns and rips.

"You're getting faster." Laxus commented, him and Erik helping oversee Lucy's training, and the blond dodged another volley of punches and aimed a kick for Natsu's knee. When he dodged that she lunged with the blade and in his attempt to back up he tripped over the tree root she'd noticed.

"Natsu, keep an eye on your environment." Erik commented, knowing that the fire dragon was getting distracted because of the fact that he was training with Lucy. But when the real fights started he was easily one of the most dependable to protect her while allowing her to fight her own battles.


	110. A Sailing we will Go

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **A SAILING WE WILL GO**

The blond was standing at the port, staring at the boat sadly, and Natsu dropped an arm over her shoulders. "Hey, Luce, cheer up. We're ready this time. Right?" He offered her a glowing smile and she returned it with a softer one. The entire guild had come to see them off, just in case, and Lucy walked over to Erik and hugged him.

"Even if you do vanish...I know you'll come home Starlight." He whispered in her as he held her close, his body shaking very slightly, and she looked up at him and nodded. Lucy leaned up, giving him a tender kiss, and he answered it with a tenderness of his own.

As they pulled apart he wiped the tear that slid from her eye and grinned at her. "Hey, don't cry. Just come back as an S-Class." Lucy nodded, her smile watery, and she went back to Natsu to prevent herself from full on bawling.

The fire dragon slayer looked back at Erik and nodded, knowing there was an unspoken threat to protect her, and the candidates and S-Class all stepped onto the boat. Natsu was dealing with his motion sickness, as was Gajeel and Laxus, bu sleeping; Lucy stood firm between Cana and Levy as they reassured her that she'd be okay.

Makarov watched Lucy as she stared at the horizon and walked over, hopping up onto the edge of the ship to stand beside her; Levy and Cana took that as a sign to walk away.

"My child...we _will_ make it out of this. No matter what happens." Lucy glanced at him and smiled, nodding, and her eyes shifted down to her key ring. This time she had nine of the golden keys and ten silver keys, she could summon two spirits at once, and she was ready to deal with anything that came her way.


	111. Wisdom

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **WISDOM**

Chocolate eyes scanned the horizon, Makarov had declared for them to start searching for the island, and Natsu was too busy trying not to hurl. "Ah! I see it!" Evergreen shouted happily, earning a grin from Elfman as Makarov declared for them to start moving, and Lucy watched the Fairy Mage pick the bulky man up and fly across the water.

"Ah! There!" Levy pointed, at the same time Mest did, and the blunette was gone in an instant as the bastard used his direct transport. Lucy scanned the horizon again and grinned. "I see it!" Makarov nodded and she called Caelum. "Flight form please!" The orb spirit beeped and wings seemed to sprout from his sides, she forced Natsu to hold onto him and they flew over the ocean.

"Nice, Luce!" Now that he wasn't on the boat Natsu was back to normal, the pair high fiving, and they soared toward the bank; as they dropped down she stared at the paths before her. "There's no way Makarov arranged it the same as last time." Lucy looked at each road and glanced at Natsu.

"What about scent? Can you smell where the others went?" Natsu blinked and raised his nose before taking a big inhale. "Well, Evergreen and Elfman took Path B. Levy and Mest are took path E." Lucy glanced at him and grinned. "We're taking path C." He noticed the look on her face and knew that she'd figured something out and nodded.

"Alright, Luce, you're the brains." The blond snickered and led him down the path, walking down the pathways of trees; her eyes shifted to look at Natsu as he walked beside her, he was a lot different than he had been at this point before.

"So what's on our path, Luce?" He asked with a smile.


	112. I Love Lucy

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **I LOVE LUCY**

The blond grinned, glancing at her teammate, and stood in front of the one S-Class mage she had to prove her mettle against. The blond had come far in this new chance, she'd learned so much, and now she had the chance to prove she was worthy of the bond they shared.

Natsu's eyes widened, a grin breaking out on his face, and the two teens slid into fighting stances. "Oh? So you're the unlucky ones to pick my path." Gildarts grinned back, shrugging off his cloak, and Lucy shook her head. "No, Papa, we're the lucky ones now. I'm ready to prove that I'm worthy of being your little girl." His dark eyes widened, softened, and he wiped away his tears.

"You better be ready, Lucy and Natsu, I'm not going to go easy on you." Lucy nodded once, her eyes darkening with her resolve to win, and she glanced at Natsu.

"Loke! Gemini!" The two spirits appeared beside her, wearing matching smiles, and Gildarts smiled when he realized Lucy was being completely serious now. "Natsu." The lion grinned, fist bumping the fire dragon slayer, and they coated their fists in magic before attacking.

"Gemini, you know what to do." The twins transformed into Freed, writing reflective runes whenever Gildarts used his crash spells, and Lucy charged in herself. The blade appeared in her hand, surprising Gildarts, and he bent over back to avoid her slash before kicking hard; Lucy grunted and managed to get her feet back under her, despite the ache in her ribs, but she was smiling.

"We're all fired up." She echoed with Natsu, Loke, and Gemini. Gildarts grunted and Natsu charged in to attack.

"Come at me, Natsu, prove to me that you're someone I can trust my little girl with." The blond nearly threw a fit but knew better.


	113. Sweet Child of Mine

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **SWEET CHILD OF MINE**

Gildarts couldn't contain his pride in the form of a wide smile as Natsu lashed out with another heavy punch that was alight with fire, Loke's own golden fists flying at rather fast speeds, and Gemini had transformed into a duplicate of Levy. The script mage copy was rather proficient, of all her spirits Gildarts knew Gemini to be among her strongest, and Lucy's kick connected with his ribs in his distraction.

The following punch, from Natsu, had him sliding back a small bit; Loke's blow was direct, powerful, and Gildarts felt the Regulus Blast connect. But it wasn't quite strong enough yet, certainly stronger than anything else he'd been hit with so far, and so he easily delivered a powerful blow that sent Natsu reeling before aiming to punch Lucy.

She dodged, as her strength lay in her speed, and her back pressed to his as she wrapped her leg around his and ducked so she shifted his weight onto her back; Gildarts faltered and was pushed clean over her shoulders.

"Flaming Regulus Meteor Blade!" The Unison Raid from Natsu and Loke was bright, blinding to be honest, and he knew that Lucy had thrown him into the direct path. He raised a hand with a grin, dismantling the blast of bright golden flames, but his arrogance was what they'd counted on.

Gemini had changed again into Juvia, Aquarius taking Loke's place, and the whirlpool of water was superheated as Natsu came sailing at such great speeds toward him. "We won't lose here!" Natsu declared loudly as Gildarts raised his hand again, a leather cord capturing his wrist and jerking him hard, and the S-Class mage had his concentration broken in that moment from Lucy's interference. The attack struck, sending him into a tree, and the two teens cheered.

Until he stood up.


	114. Crawling

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **CRAWLING**

His magic swelled around him, the grin was gone, and Lucy felt her body stiffen in response to the sheer mass and density of his magic; she'd always known Gildarts was strong, never once had a doubt about that, but facing him now with his magic unrestrained...her knees trembled as her eyes flew wide. Natsu was having a similar reaction, his dark amber eyes were wide as he stood somewhat in front of Lucy, and her fear made his instincts swell.

He knew Gajeel felt it, Laxus too, but he was right here; her fear was choking, it was physically making him feel ill, and the dragon within roared to eliminate the thing his Matriarch feared. Lucy blinked as Natsu snarled, like an animal, and crimson scales formed along his arms; his hair seemed to stand up more while his whole body shifted into a soft of crouch, the sound of growling was frightening.

"Don't be afraid, Lucy." His voice was raspy, somewhat hoarse in the way he spoke, and yet she felt calm. Watching him stand before her made her realize that even if he was afraid Natsu would always stand by her side and that made her stand up, her hand clasping her whip, and she thanked her spirits through the keys. This was her fight, hers and Natsu's, and she wouldn't tarnish that.

"So you two still stand even when your opponent shows off greater strength?" Gildarts had been impressed that they'd backed off, they knew to be cautious, but then Natsu's eyes seemed to glow and become a shade of molten amber before scales formed in clusters on his arms and face.

With slit pupils he looked even more like a dragon than ever.

"We have each other, Papa, we never need to back down as long as we're together." Lucy replied with a smile before her look hardened.


	115. Every Step You Take

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **EVERY STEP YOU TAKE**

Levy glanced at her partner, his turquoise eyes were searching, and she let her own eyes narrow slightly. The tracking script she'd planted on him earlier hadn't been tampered with, she would know where he was anywhere on this island, and she planned to make sure that he didn't hurt her family.

"You're staring." Her eyes widened, somewhat alarmed, and he glanced at her. "Does that mean you're interested in me, perhaps?" He moved closer and she moved away from him, shaking her head, and then he poked her cheek. "You're blushing though. Your cheeks and ears are red. It's really cute." Levy pouted and turned her gaze from him.

"S-shut up!" She snapped, more irate than ever, and he laughed. "I can't help it. Whenever I find something interesting...I just want to know all about it." His voice deepened, making a shiver run down her spine, and Levy glanced at him with a careful eye.

"So you're saying that me blushing is interesting?" He blinked, looking startled, and then a grin spread across his face slowly. "I meant to imply that _you're_ interesting, Levy, I guess I wasn't clear enough." Her face brightened, her mouth dropping open, and she cursed loudly when they stepped into a battle zone.

"Shit! Who?" Juvia and Freed stepped out of the brush with matching looks of determination, Levy's eyes narrowed as the rune mage looked at Mest while Juvia smiled. "Juvia will not lose here!" The water mage declared, looking to Freed, and Levy grabbed her light pen.

"I don't plan to lose either!" The blunette declared, looking at Mest, and he blinked slightly before nodding at her. "Dark Ecriture, Pain!" "Water Slicer!"

"Sold Script, Guard!" The large shield appeared and Mest vanished before appearing behind Freed.

* * *

 _Hey guys, just wanted to let you know that I updated my profile with a few upcoming projects. Also, for the Gildarts vs. NaLu fight I plan to make an omake with that featured._


	116. Pain

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **PAIN**

Levy grunted as she was hit by something, which made her fall, and glanced over. "You're-" The blunette was unable to finish speaking, pain flaring through her entire body, and Meredy grinned as both Juvia and Levy stumbled to the ground from her spell. The two blue haired females were linked, sharing pain, and the pink haired girl sneered as Freed and Mest moved to stand between her.

"Oh, that won't do. We need to eliminate all of Lucy's dear friends." Meredy's face broke into a sick grin, her spell linking to Freed and Mest, and she created a circle of blades that flew toward them. A torrent of sharp water blades knocked the blades aside, sending them reeling before they vanished, and Juvia forced herself to stand up.

"You Fairies are done. Grimoire Heart has been watching you for a _very_ long time." Meredy taunted as she recalled her spell. "I know just who all of you would do anything not to hurt. Bickslow, Mirajane, Makarov, and the adored darling Lucy. However I can't do anything to the Princess, that's Master Hades' job. But the others..." The band appeared on her wrist and then more pink beams spread across the island.

"Now when you attack me you'll also hurt Mirajane, Bickslow, and Makarov." The maguilty mage explained with a smirk. "Are you willing to chance that?" Her eyes gleamed with the sense of victory, her smirk wide, and the Fairy Tail mages hesitated.

"If only we had Warren." Levy murmured.

"I'll pass the message." Happy declared, Lily and Monmo beside him, and Levy grinned as the Exceeds flew off to tell the Master that Grimoire Heart was here and to warn the others.

"It doesn't matter how fast they are." Meredy commented with a sneer.


	117. Animal I Have Become

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **ANIMAL I HAVE BECOME**

* * *

The pair of them were running on instincts, one body of hard iron dodging and deflecting the script words flying toward him and the other slender body dodging the egg bombs with grace. "Hold still-peron!" The chicken like mage, Kawazu, shouted at Lisanna. "As if, feather duster!" The animal soul mage replied with a sneer, dodging another egg, and then she had to duck fast as a character flew over her head.

"Lisanna!" Gajeel was beside her in an instant, using his Tetsuryūkon to made the enemy mages back off for a moment, and the youngest Strauss glared. "I'm okay, Gajeel. Let's do this." He glanced back at her, seeing the way her pupils narrowed to slits, and she smirked. "Animal Soul, Lamia!" Her lower body became that of a large snake, her teeth growing into fangs, and Gajeel smirked as she hissed.

"Wha-" The take over mage shot forward, her body slithering across the ground while her nails sharpened to claws, and Gajeel was right behind her. His crimson eyes began to glow with unrestrained delight for the battle, his claws cutting the air as he aimed for the Eastern script mage. Yomazu prepared to attack the dragon, drawing his blade.

Lisanna giggled, her voice higher pitched and somewhat raspier. "As if. Scale Shower!" Her tail slashed the air and teal scales shot out in a massive barrage, the attack getting deflected by the blade itself while Kawazu was hit across the chest; Gajeel snickered. "Tetsuryūken!" His blade slashed out, catching Yomazu's, and the Script Mage tried to force the attack back.

"Once we kill you two Lucy will be in tears, peron." Gajeel snarled and Lisanna let out a hiss, their eyes narrowing in unison, and both Grimoire Heart mages shivered as their looks became more feral than ever.

* * *

 _Decided to give Lisanna a bit of a power up, since I think there's potential with her character, and I've sort of upped some of the others too. As for the Tenrou Arc there's going to be a LOT of jumping between battles and characters since it's such a huge Arc with lots of people involved._


	118. Crashing Dragon

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **CRASHING DRAGON**

* * *

Makarov Dreyar was laying down, defeated by his predecessor, and staring up at the sky; the Amaterasu Formation was a deadly weapon, one he'd so arrogantly thought he could beat, and Makarov coughed as a heavy boot landed on his chest.

"Foolish little Makarov, always so childish despite how old you are." The man taunted, pushing down harder on the Third Master's chest, and a flash of lightning collided with Hades and made him jump to get out of the way. "How _dare_ you do that to my grandfather." Laxus Dreyar snarled, his eyes fully white while golden scales decorated his arms and back.

Lightning sparked around him, the air charged, and Hades smirked. "You're one of Lucy's little lizards." The man commented with a grin, his eyes gleaming dangerously, and Laxus growled again before he streaked forward in his lightning body.

Hades raised his hand to knock him aside but Laxus' form jolted to the left quickly, zipping out of the way of Hades' attack, and the lightning dragon slayer delivered a powerful blow to the Master of Grimoire Heart before following up with a lightning charged kick.

"Rairyū no Hōkō!" The beam of pure electricity sparked and shot from his mouth, colliding with Hades' form, and Laxus kept himself between Hades and his grandfather's body. "Master. Allow me to play with the dragon." Laxus looked over at the ape-like man, Bluenote Stinger, and knew that this would either be a hard battle or he'd have to find Gildarts.

"Laxus!" The Crash Mage came to his side, looking straight at Bluenote, and the two Fairy Tail Mages were ready to fight for their family.

* * *

 _Laxus will get help, I promise, but all the Dragon Slayers are acting up because of the after effects of Lucy being afraid. They're all on edge so they're more irritable, dangerous, etc._


	119. No Easy Way Out

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **NO EASY WAY OUT**

The flowers of ice were slicing through the air, Erza dodging them with her Flight Armor, and the requip mage sneered before watching as the green beams of light shot down at Ultear. The enemy female dodged, looking up as Bickslow landed by her side, and her eyes began to glow before they watched his Babies decay before their very eyes.

"What...what did you do?!" The seith mage slid his helmet up in his anger, eyes flaring with green light, and the arc of time mage was trapped in her arrogance. Bickslow sneered, knowing that Ultear had been tricked for so very long, and Erza looked at him.

"We'll use her as a hostage. Meredy adores Ultear." Pantherlily had reached them in time to warn them about the strange band on Bickslow's wrist, the duo taking Ultear with them to find the others. Meredy's voice echoed in the air and they headed for the small stream, the teal blades were slicing through the air as the Fairy Tail mages dodged or deflected the attacks.

"Meredy. Release the binds on everyone or I'll rip Ultear's soul from her body." Bickslow warned, his tone angry as his eyes flared with green light, and the pink haired woman let out a squeak of fear.

"Y-you wouldn't!" She declared, pointing, and Bickslow's magic flared up as they watched Ultear begin to scream, clutching her chest, her skin growing paler. Meredy wavered for only a moment. "Alright! I'll stop!" The binds vanished, four pink beams coming back to her, and Bickslow released the hold on Ultear.

As Meredy cradled the woman close a flare of dark magic pulsed up, the Tenrou Tree itself beginning to fall, and Erza's eyes grew wide as a figure stepped into their line of sight.

* * *

 _Okay, I fess up, I gave everyone a bit of a power boost here. Plus we barely get to see how awesome Bicks can be, I know he's HELLA strong if he's on the Raijinshuu but the biggest fights for him are Fantasia and Tenrou. I think Bicks deserves some more screen love._


	120. Dark Waters

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **DARK WATERS**

* * *

Juvia had gone on the offensive, the moment she realized just who stood before them, and they all gave pause as they looked at the man. His hair was very long, tied back in a traditional topknot in a samurai like fashion while it had an effect of waves, but they realized in that moment that it wasn't hair. Dark black liquid retained its hair-like form, his eyes were an eerie shade of dull purple, and he looked like a walking corpse because of how pale he was.

"Oh little Juvia...my how you're _grown_." The blunette let out a growl that was rather impressive from a human and Bickslow moved to stand by her side, Freed joining her, the trio looked to the others. "Go, find the others, save the Tenrou Tree." Freed looked at them and Erza nodded. "Mest, go find Master Makarov and see that he's alright. Levy you go find Lucy and Natsu. I'll look for everyone else." Erza put her Flight Armor on and vanished.

Mest looked at Levy and kissed her before vanishing, the script mage blushing profusely before running off on her own; the mystery water mage laughed at the trio before him.

"Did you miss me, Juvia?" Bickslow didn't have anything for his Babies to possess, animals wouldn't work here, but evidently he lucked out. "Bickslow. Here." Juvia handed him several Teru teru bōzu dolls, her cheeks lighting up a soft shade of pink, and he smiled at her before the cloth dolls floated into the air.

"Thanks, Juvia." The enemy mage sneered. "Ignoring your friend isn't nice." He declared with a sneer.

"Suijin is no friend of Juvia's." He gave a look that she supposed was hurt, his lips curling into a pout, but his eyes were dull and dead. "Then I guess it's time I kill you." His hair seemed to expand before the blackness spread to the water below.

* * *

 _This OC, Suijin, was created by a very close friend of mine who had his own story of Juvia's past since she's his favorite character. Paul, Suijin's creator, passed away last year from a car accident with a drunk driver; when I started getting to the Tenrou Arc and wanted to figure out who to put into Grimoire Heart...I knew that his bad guy had to make an appearance._


	121. Waking the Demon

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **WAKING THE DEMON**

* * *

Mirajane Strauss wasn't a pushover, as one of the strongest of Fairy Tail's S-Class mages she was a woman to be feared, and as she stood before this strange man Kain she realized that like so many others he was mistaking her beauty as a weakness.

"Be a good woman and give me one of your hairs." Kain held out his hand expectantly, his smirk oozing confidence, and Mirajane glared as her magic began to swell. Nobody else was around her, she could release her full powers, and her Inner Demon came out to play. But this wasn't her most known, Satan Soul, this was a monster none of the others had seen.

Halphas smiled with a dark expression, Kain staring at her in terror as her magic began to swell even more, and the blue demon let out a feral snarl before vanishing. In an instant Kain found himself on the receiving end of a blast of pink magic that sent him careening across the ground.

"Why should I want to be a good woman, Kain? I'm a good monster and that's fine by me." Halphas sneered as she stood over the man, her eyes blazing, and as she prepared to hit him with an attack that would most likely end his life the demon turned her attack to the trees.

"Oh? So you were able to sense me?" Azuma slid out the tree branch right at the break she'd caused, she kicked the overweight man hard as her tail swayed slightly.

"The demon Mirajane, a mage whose mention causes many to tremble in fear, you will be a fine trophy to boast of defeating." Cold blue eyes peered at him and her red lips curled into a smirk. "You think of yourself as being _my_ equal? That someone as _weak_ as you can best me?" The demon purred in delight as her eyes gleamed with killing intent.

* * *

 _I like the idea that all of Mirajane's Take Overs have their own personalities, it's a cool idea, so that's what's happening here if it's not obvious. Halphas is a snarky, cruel, confident, bitch. I love her :)_


	122. Meeting END

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **MEETING END**

* * *

Lucy and Natsu were running toward the sound of the fighting, trying to find their family, and Happy flew by their side; Monmo had gone to find Laxus and Panther was seeking out Gajeel, Grimoire Heart had come to Tenroujima.

"Wait. I smell something." Natsu made her stop, his eyes narrowed, and Lucy noticed that the crimson scales on his arms and the sides of his face and neck had yet to go away; his eyes swirled the color of molten amber.

"Natsu?" He looked at her and grabbed her shoulders, pressing a kiss to her lips, and Lucy let him kiss her. Happy made gagging noises but Lucy couldn't help her falling into the kiss, he devoured her mouth, and as they parted for air he looked at Lucy.

"There you are...Natsu Dragneel." Lucy looked up, past Natsu, and stared at Zeref; his blank eyes meeting hers, and she watched a glimmer of recognition form in them. "Artemis?" He asked softly, stepping forward, and then he shook his head.

"No, she died of old age...you are her child." Lucy moved around Natsu and nodded. "I'm Lucy Heartfilia, the descendant of Artemis Vermilion, and I'm the one who holds the key to your death." Zeref's face formed a soft smile.

"Partially...but not now. There are two things needed to kill me, Lucy, and the other is END." His eyes focused on the form behind her as Natsu moved to stand slightly in front of her. "I'm glad you two are together, it will make this much faster when it's time for my life to be over." Lucy blinked and then realized what he meant.

 _'When I was a kid Igneel said he tried to kill END but he couldn't.'_

Her brown eyes widened.

"Natsu...is END?" Zeref smiled.

"Etherious Natsu Dragneel." Zeref spoke softly.

"I had other powerful Etherious but they were simply prototypes, I hadn't cared what happened when they woke up so I sent them away. But that damned Fire Dragon had to interfere."

* * *

 _Remember that I had Lucy change things prior to them learning the truth about Natsu, she never had to sacrifice Aquarius, and they didn't know the dragons were sealed inside of the slayers until Metalicana told Gajeel the truth in the new time-line._


	123. AVE

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **AVE**

* * *

Zeref looked at her and smiled. "You've figured it out then." He'd seen the look of understanding in her eyes, knowing exactly what she knew, and her lips curled into a frown. "The Dragon Slayers...all of them are your prototypes." Zeref's smile softened. "I can't expect any less from you, AVE." Her eyes narrowed.

"AVE?" It was Natsu who answered her question. "Artemis Vermilion Etherious." Lucy looked at him and the fire dragon slayer growled. "When you put your magic into Artemis, when she was dying, you turned her into an Etherious. That's why her appearance always carried down...until Mavis." Zeref smiled.

"Yes, Mavis' father had potent magic that helped stop the Etherious from forming, instead it sat within her; when she was put into the crystal she left a child, AVE, and the cycle continued." Zeref explained with a smile. "Oh, you don't know about that. Ask Makarov what Lumen Histoire is sometime." Zeref commented with a grin.

"I'm done talking." Natsu snarled, his body glowing with flames, and Lucy grabbed two keys from her belt. "So you're going to fight? Well, little brother, come at me." Black magic seeped from Zeref's body and the two Fairy Tail mages prepared to attack.

"As if I'll let that happen." The blond man with black fire landed before them, grinning at Natsu, and Lucy shook her head before sticking the key into the water below her. "Aquarius! Hydra!" The blue haired mermaid appeared beside a woman with webbed hands and feet, her body was covered in powder blue scales while her hair was long and a deep shade of purple.

The two water spirits shared knowing smiles. "The fire mage thinks he can beat us, Ari?" The sea serpent spirit asked with a smirk. "Apparently, Dee," Lucy smirked as the torrent of water formed in the silver urn while Hydra held her trident to fight.

* * *

 _I wasn't really sure what silver keys I wanted to add to Lucy's collection but I wanted to at least give her one more water combat spirit, thus Hydra was created. In previous chapters I've mentioned five extra silver keys and even showcased a few (Caelum, Chamaeleon, and Hydra) but I'm having a hard time picking the last two because there's so many cool ideas I've got for each constellation._


	124. Blue Soul

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **BLUE SOUL**

* * *

When Suijin's black water had touched Juvia it was like she was lost in a fog, Bickslow had been forced to watch her skin become black and her eyes become a dull purple; Freed had activated his Dark Ecriture Absolute Shadow while Bickslow tried to subdue the mind controlled Juvia.

As she aimed to attack him again one of his Babies moved in the way, making her falter, and the Seith Mage knew he had to use a magic on her that he swore he'd never unleash on a member of his nakama. He already had no helmet on, he'd left it behind, and his eyes began to glow as he activated one of his strongest spells.

He could see that the blackness was encasing her soul, hiding the pure blue orb he'd come to love, and he reached his soul out to hers and dove into the darkness. _"Juvia!"_ He had found someone crazy enough to love him, despite his brand of magic, and he wouldn't give her up.

He knew Freed was okay, physically himself and Juvia would be having seizures, but he wouldn't give up. On an enemy he could use this ability to bind their soul from their body to that of an inanimate object around them, in this case he was using it to free Juvia. But the pain it would cause...he hoped she didn't hate him.

" _Juvia could never hate you, Bicks."_ He heard her voice reaching out to him and broke free of the blackness, her blue soul gleaming like the sun, and he let that light encase him before he felt warmth like no other fill him. Like this he felt whole, by her side, and Juvia's soul brushed his gently before their combined strength broke through the black coils.

Freed watched their forms begin to glow, standing up, and Juvia's eyes shimmered with green rings of power as Bickslow's own eyes shone with blue light. "This is your end, Suijin!" They shouted together.

* * *

 _Ah~ The power of love, especially some of my favorite pairings._


	125. Storm

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **STORM**

* * *

Laxus dodged another barrage of Hades' bullets, Gildarts and Bluenote had punched each other across the damn island not too long ago after Mest got his grandfather out of the way of harm. Lightning rained down on the battle field as Laxus' white eyes followed Hades' movements with ease; his nostrils flared, recognizing the scent headed his way, and Hades shot forward only to slam into a rune barrier.

Levy's eyes were shining with anger. "Sorry I'm late, Laxus!" The blunette hopped off the tree branch she'd been perched on and landed next to him, light pen glowing, and she heard the sound of explosions off to the west. "Cana must have found her father." Laxus snorted, for as much as the brunette hated his clingyness it couldn't be denied that she loved her old man.

"You insolent brats think you can fight me? The second Master of Fairy Tail?" Levy laughed at him. "We know we can fight you, Precht Gaebolg, and we're going to win." He shot a chain at her, which tore through the runes, and her hands were in motion.

"Solid Script, Charged Spikes!" The metal spikes shot out of the ground around him, in a circle, and he laughed. "Your aim is god awful, girl." Levy simply smirked.

"I didn't realize that the second Master was stupid."

"Rairyū Hōtengeki!"

The lightning spear struck down, the iron spikes drawing it's power as the lightning Levy had imbued them with upon casting helped amp up the power of Laxus' attack.

The small characters for 'lightning' had been dancing around the large spikes of iron written out, now merged with the power of Laxus' own magic, and Levy heard Laxus let out a growl before she was pulled up into the air and looked at the purple spell circle.

The rain that began to fall made Hades' glowing eyes more ominous.


	126. Then They Do

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **THEN THEY DO**

* * *

 _'Cana...Lucy...I'm sorry.'_

Bluenote had cornered Gildarts, forcing him on the defensive, but as he prepared to end the man's life there was a new competitor who entered the field.

"Card Magic, Roaring Thunder!" The cards flew at him, hitting the ground in front of him, and the shockwave of pure magic sent him flying backward and into a wall. The brunette female moved to stand in front of Gildarts.

"How _dare_ you attack my father." Cana snapped, her vibrant eyes blazing with power, and Bluenote stood up and glared at the insolent girl.

"You're nothing more than a child, girl, leave the adults to fight." The brunette drew three more cards.

"I am an S-Class mage of Fairy Tail, the daughter of Gildarts Clive and Cornelia Clive, and I am not going to let some asshole like you trash my nakama."

"Black hole!"

Gildarts forced himself to stand up as the orb began drawing everything in, Cana simply held her cards.

"Card Magic, Gravity Break!" The three cards ripped through the orb, shattering the attack, and Cana had another attack ready.

"Summoned Lightning!" He dodged the attack and she jumped to avoid his punch, kicking him hard in the face, and she landed beside Gildarts.

"Prayer's Fountain!" The whirlpool of water drenched the man more than the rain, throwing him into a stone, and she felt a hand grip hers.

"I always forget how fast you've grown." Gildarts commented softly, standing by her side, and she smiled.

"I know, Lucy and I aren't babies...but we're your girls. So don't think you're allowed to leave yet." He smiled as he summoned his magic to his fist.

"Crash Spread!" The three cards were soaked in his magic, making Bluenote fly when they hit, and Cana hugged her father.

"Where is Lucy?" The large tower of black magic that rose into the sky was where they headed. Lucy _always_ attracted trouble.


	127. Dance with the Devil

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **DANCE WITH THE DEVIL**

* * *

Azuma dodged another powerful punch, the strength of that punch creating a breeze that ruffled his hair, and Halphas followed up with a kick that sent him sprawling into the fallen tree. He sank into the warped wood, having destroyed the great Tenrou tree, and the demon let her magic leak out.

The dark tendrils soaked into the wood, reaching for his magic, and as she found him the monster grinned darkly and shot forward like a bullet; her fist slammed through the wood, catching him in her hold, and her magic leaked outward like an explosion.

Azuma grunted as he blinked, trying to clear the black spots in his vision, and a heavy force wrapped around his throat, her tail captured him and began to constrict his airway. The man grunted, fighting for breath, and used Tower Break; but what he hadn't counted on was for Mirajane to be unharmed from the pillar of flames. Not even a scorch mark was there.

"You think you can beat a demon with fire?" She asked with a tilt of the head, her expression menacing, and Azuma shivered in fear.

"Terra Clamare!" Halphas felt the magic swell around them, felt the power of the earth itself rising up, and wrapped her wings around herself as she let her own magic flare. The darkness formed inside the burning glow, forcing the magic to explode outward, and Mirajane slammed Azuma into the ground.

"You were strong." Halphas declared, staring down at the spent mage, his brown eyes shining before his body began transforming into a tree. Mirajane watched the form of Bluenote fly across the sky, far from the island itself as he headed over the ocean, and then turned to find Elfman or Lisanna.

Halphas smirked in glee as she flew over the ground, the girl barely ever let her out to play after getting overexcited and destroying a city only once.

The demon would enjoy her freedom now.


	128. Noro-san

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **NORO-SAN**

* * *

"Ever!" The brunette woman went flying, having been caught off guard by the strange man with black hair; they'd seen the bolts of lightning and headed for it, seeing as Monmo had found them earlier, and now they were fighting some weirdo bastard with a damn doll.

"Ah ah ah, ya ugly beast, the Lady needs to learn her place." Kain commented with a sneer, Noro-san having one of Evergreen's hairs on its head allowed him to toss the brunette around like a doll, and Elfman snarled as he went Weretiger.

"Oh? How disgusting." Kain taunted, using Evergreen as a shield, and Elfman froze in place with a growl of warning. "Let her go you sick bastard, you're less than a man if you use a woman as a shield!" The Take-Over mage roared, his sharp fangs shining with saliva as he watched Kain carefully.

"Is that any way to talk to a real man such as myself? Especially if you want this lovely woman to come out unharmed." Evergreen frowned and her body started glowing gold before the particles wrapped around Kain.

"As if, asshole, I'm dating the greatest man that there ever is because he stands by my side!" Her magic flared. "Fairy Bomb, Gremlin!" The explosion was intense and Evergreen went flying into Elfman's arms as the curse doll hit the ground.

"I've got it!" Monmo had been ordered by Laxus to get as many people to stop Hades as he could, the Exceed scooped the doll up and handed it to Evergreen after taking her hair out.

"Here!" Monmo had a handful of black hair, it was from Kain, and Evergreen's smile became wicked as she put the hairs on the doll and lifted it up; Kain was levitating before her. "Oh this will be fun." Elfman snickered.

His girlfriend was the best woman there was when it came to making a man fall to their knees.


	129. Instincts

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **INSTINCTS**

* * *

Gajeel and Lisanna stood back-to-back, Kawazu was down for the count but Yomazu was proving to be annoying as hell, and the orient script characters surrounded them in a swirling circle. "Gajeel. I've got a plan." Lisanna whispered, her ears twitching since she'd used her Animal Soul Cat, and he nodded once to show he was listening. "I've got one last surprise up my sleeve. Distract him for a minute." Gajeel smirked and nodded.

"Oi! Dog face!" The furry bastard growled and Gajeel bolted, making a hard lunge to the left, and Yomazu sent an attack his way just like Lisanna wanted. "Animal Soul, Sphinx!" This was her newest Take-Over, something she'd struggled with for years, and she'd finally mastered it; her claws began to glow with magic.

Lisanna roared as she lunged, catching the bastard off guard, and he screamed as her glowing claws cut through his armor; Gajeel was quick to gather his magic.

"Metsuryū Ōgi! Gōma Tetsu Jin ken!"

Lisanna was quick to get out of the way, the massive sword striking and destroying a large portion of the ground, and she sighed as she released her spell and looked at Gajeel.

"We have to find the others." He nodded. "They're this way!" Panther called out, flying down, and he quickly led them through the trees; they had to save everyone, and as they ran Gajeel could feel the darker instincts calling for blood. He'd _felt_ Lucy's fear earlier and it made him nearly slaughter Kawazu, hell Lisanna had recommended roasting the feathered bastard, but they had managed to push the urge down.

Being that Lisanna was an animal soul mage meant she had ties to the animals she took over, including the snakes and lions, so she had the heart of a predator.

It was fun to work with her since she didn't seem to flinch from his sometimes sadistic nature.


	130. The Lion isn't Sleeping Tonight

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **THE LION ISN'T SLEEPING TONIGHT**

* * *

The tower of black magic was swirling, Lucy was facing Zancrow while Natsu tried to beat Zeref, and the blond fire god slayer was laughing as Aquarius and Hydra intercepted his attack once again.

"It seems we're at a stalemate, bimbo." Her brow twitched and Aquarius also glared, Hydra's trident glowed before the blast of water struck out at him; he dodged only to shriek as the whip caught his ankle and pulled him into the torrent of water.

"Bastard!" Lucy called, watching as Aquarius and Hydra combined their magic to sharpen the water into blades, cutting into his skin and clothing as he was whipped into the whirlpool; she registered Natsu calling her name and turned her head in time to catch the white chain that wrapped around her wrist.

"Hades!" She shouted out, alarmed, before she was simply thrown; Aquarius sent an attack at him, which was deflected, and Lucy grunted as she forced herself to stand up.

"L-lord Zeref!" Hades shouted out, alarmed, before deflecting Laxus' punch and sending the blond dragon slayer into a tree. "Lucy!" Cana and Gildarts emerged too, seeing Lucy leaning on the tree, and her chocolate eyes were dark with anger.

"I'm sick and fucking tired of being thrown around like a damned doll." Lucy commented with a snarl, looking to Aquarius and Hydra, and the two spirits nodded before vanishing. The blond had spent time talking to Hige-oyaji about spells lost to Celestial Mages a long time ago. It was time for her to try.

Her hand clasped Loke's key, calling on the magic inside the key itself, and her bond with the lion. "Stardress! Leo Form!" Her clothing changed, hair winding up into a bun as the black and amber dress formed on her, and her fists were glowing with golden light as her slit pupils narrowed on Hades.


	131. Roar

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **ROAR**

* * *

Gildarts was amazed, Lucy's magic was incredible, and Loke stood by her side with a fierce expression that matched hers; instead of human ears she had golden lion ears on her head, her eyes seemed more feral, and she snarled loudly as sharpened teeth slid out of black lips.

"At your command, Hime." Loke purred, his own smirk growing, and Hades called on an Amaterasu formation; Lucy and Loke gathered their magic and not only dodged out of the purple runes but the massive flood of magic was choking.

"Regulus Roar!" The two punched, sending two massive bursts of light magic right at Hades, and the man screamed in pain as the light washed over him; the dark tower faded, as the attack brushed it, and Lucy's eyes narrowed as she glanced at the silent dark mage. He was watching her with wide eyes.

"You aren't half bad, for a couple of brats." Hades admitted, a little more than beat up, and he removed his eye patch and called on his darkest magic. The demon's eye.

Lucy, though, stood firm. "Don't be afraid." She spoke firmly, commanding, and her light began to glow from within as the darkness crowded them; her soul was washing away the darkness. "Lucy, move!" The blond was pushed as the Amaterasu formation glowed, hitting Laxus hard, and Lucy's roar of anger ripped through her like a storm as he coughed.

"Here, Natsu, you have to...finish this for me." Natsu nodded, placing a hand on Laxus' shoulder, and he felt the lightning flow into him.

"The Raienryū." Cana whispered, awed, and Lucy smiled.

"It's over." Gildarts declared, Cana by his side, and Lucy stood by Natsu as they faced Hades. Levy helped pull Laxus away from the battle, making defensive runes, and Zeref smiled before walking away while leaving the tower of black magic to run its course.

It was Hades' beacon, his dark heart, creating a signal flare to Acnologia.


	132. Oil and Water

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **OIL AND WATER**

* * *

He knew she was in pain, Bickslow had quite literally ripped Juvia's soul out of the dark inky bastard's grasp, but she was fighting so fiercely. Bickslow had ordered Freed to go find Lucy, knowing her she was at the biggest source of danger, and so he and Juvia were facing Suijin.

"Are you ashamed of me, Juvia? Is that why nobody knows who I am?" Bickslow had realized that his magic was oil, not water, and now they had to be careful of fire hazards. It was a good thing Natsu was nowhere close.

"Water Nebula!" The man dodged the attack, his body becoming oil, and Bickslow realized that he was a lot like Juvia with his magic type. "Are you two related?" The Rain Woman frowned and nodded.

"Suijin is Juvia's cousin...he tricked Juvia when she was a child into believing he was her only friend...he used Juvia as a scapegoat and a punching bag!" The sky opened up, rain pouring down on them, boiling water that seared Bickslow's skin.

"Ow, Juvia, it's hot!" He had no helmet this time and the water cooled considerably, back to a normal temperature, as she flashed him a worried look. The torrent of oil that washed over her made her cough and sputter as she spit out the black liquid, vomiting from even just one touch of it on her tongue.

"We never did get along, oil and water type deal, but I have no problem killing a weakling like her." Suijin commented with a sick grin, looking more corpse-like than ever.

"You won't get the chance." Bickslow's eyes began to glow, the light was teal rather than green, and he could feel Juvia's magic merged with his. When he'd pulled her soul free he had done more than just save her.


	133. Bonded

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **BONDED**

* * *

He was calling on her, she could feel it, and Juvia stood up and clutched Bickslow's hand in her own; when he'd saved her from Suijin's control she knew what he'd done, she'd felt their souls merge for only seconds, but it was enough. Juvia gave him her strength, let him bask in her power, and allowed herself to lean on him to help her beat her demon.

"What the fu-" Suijin was silenced as the waters churned around him, the rain focusing just on him, and Bickslow's babies swirled dangerously before they began flying in a circle around the tower of water.

"Graviton Formation!" It was a technique he'd never yet unleashed, it needed a metric fuck-ton of magic, but with Juvia by his side he knew it would work. The beam of light was green and blue, like jets of glowing water, and Suijin screamed as the magic ripped through him.

The dolls wavered, flying back to his side, and Bickslow fell to his knees as Juvia slid beside him; Suijin wasn't moving, his body actually breaking apart into nothing more than oil, and the two looked up as Meredy and Ultear stared at them in awe.

"D-damn. I don't have-" Meredy shook her head. "No, stop. We're not...we don't want to fight you." They'd lost, gotten mercy, and now they had seen just how strong Fairy Tail was. Ultear's eyes had a knowing look, her expression soft, and Bicklsow realized in that moment that she _remembered_.

"I am an Arc of Time mage." The woman reminded him, ignoring Meredy's confused look, and Ultear frowned. "It took me seeing your soul to realize the truth...but let me fix my mistake." Ultear's magic swelled, focusing on the Tenrou Tree, and Bickslow watched as it began to grow and thrive again.


	134. Fairies Fall

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **FAIRY'S FALL**

* * *

Lucy was sweating, panting really, and ready to fall over; she couldn't focus, couldn't even call on magic, and her eyes shifted to where Natsu was kneeling as Hades lay defeated. It had taken the help of everyone, Mirajane had come with Elfman and Evergreen while Freed brought Gajeel and Lisanna, but they had won. Lucy's Stardress faded, her body trembling, and she crawled over to where Laxus was.

He was unconscious, laying in Levy's arms, and Lucy pressed her forehead to his. They were all exhausted, beaten up, and ready to pass out; but they had won, Gajeel and Natsu both sank down beside her, and she let her eyes close for a minute.

But in the time she closed her eyes she heard the soft voice call out to her. _'You must gather everyone, now. He's coming.'_ The blond didn't need to ask who and as the Tenrou Tree began to glow she watched as everyone gained a bit more energy from Mavis herself. "Lucy?" Natsu could see her worried look.

"Acnologia is coming." Mest had fled, no surprise, but the blond knew that Ultear and Meredy had also gotten away once Bickslow and Juvia arrived. Erza came limping out to them, the Exceeds were also pretty beaten up, and the blond female closed her eyes and called on the light energy in her soul as the black dragon flew over them.

There wasn't a fight this time, there wasn't a chance to stop him, his mouth opened and began to glow.

As Lucy stood in the circle of her friends she let Mavis use her body, the First Master's light filled her and flew out around them all; there was a brief instance of pain when the breath attack hit the orb of golden light but then there was blessed darkness.

* * *

 _As a gift for hitting so many huge milestones that none of my other stories have ever hit, since you're all wonderful readers and reviewers, I am going to do seven longer chapters that will be the seven year gap that Fairy Sphere is active. I'm doing it to thank you for staying with my along this journey of writing a story that I can look back at and go "Wow, I wrote that." with a shit eating grin on my face. So thanks everyone for your wonderful support!_


	135. Long Distance Lullaby - Year One

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **LONG DISTANCE LULLABY – YEAR ONE**

Indigo eyes closed, barely focusing on the papers before him, as Erik felt his heart clench painfully; he'd felt every little thing, the Soul Link between him and Lucy allowed him to know when she was nearly beaten and when she'd triumphed. But now there was nothing. "So it did happen." Sorano whispered softly, sadly, while Gray wore a solemn expression; Jellal had left to find Meredy and Ultear, to make sure they were taken care of, and they would be home soon.

"Yes. We have to take care of Fairy Tail while they aren't here." The poison dragon slayer whispered, Kasumi sitting on his shoulder with a sad expression, and Gray nodded. "I know. We have to be strong." They declared to the whole guild that the remaining S-Class of Fairy Tail were going to keep the guild in tact this time around, and Erik looked at the others in the room, there was one subject he didn't want to breach. "In a year we'll be able to elect a new Master, per the council's laws on time restraints of missing persons, so we should pick now." The poison dragon certainly didn't expect for Sorano, Gray, and Macbeth to point to him.

"M-me?" He looked at them and earned nods in return. "You're good with money, you're great at keeping the other destructive assholes in line, people know you're an S-Class and a strong mage; if anyone takes over it should be you." Erik looked at Macbeth for a moment, contemplating, before sighing.

"I need time to think about it. We should have the guild choose among the S-Class that remain. Jellal, Sorano, Macbeth, and myself are the candidates." Sorano and Macbeth exchanged looks. "Don't you dare threaten people to make them choose me." The poison dragon warned, he knew that most of the guild was intimidated by him ( _his magic was among the most dangerous_ ) so he couldn't imagine he'd be selected.

"Fine. Alright." Sorano replied with a grumble before standing up and going to walk away, Gray watched her for a sad moment and went to follow after nodding at Erik; Macbeth studied his longtime friend and sighed. "If it means anything...we all miss her too." Erik nodded, his eyes closing, and he raised his gaze to look at Macbeth. "I know. But...they'll be back." He earned a nod in reply and Macbeth smirked. "It's like you said, the least we can do is make sure they have a home when they return." Erik nodded and made to leave, unable to stand sitting in the guild much longer, and Kasumi sat on his shoulder silently.

"Ne, Erik?" He grunted, to show he'd heard her, and she patted his cheek. "We should go tend to Jude-san and Layla-san's graves." Erik blinked, pausing, and nodded; Lucy's parents may have left her early but she _always_ went to visit them at least once a month, sometimes more if they had a job in the area, and he would make sure they were taken care of. His steps led him to the train station and he heard Kasumi humming a soft melody; it was far too familiar and he recognized it as the one Lucy liked to sing when any of them had nightmares. "Thanks, Kasumi." His whisper was heard but she only kept humming rather than acknowledge his words.

The vote had been unanimous, to the surprise of everyone who had been candidates for the position as Fourth Master of Fairy Tail, and Erik rolled his eyes at the outcome; he'd told them he wouldn't get chosen and for the next seven years they were looking at Master Jellal. The blue haired teen smiled at everyone, touched by their trust in his guidance, and even Ultear and Meredy were smiling; the pair had become Fairy Tail members, since they weren't criminals in the sense that they had a record. Thankfully this time around Ultear hadn't infiltrated the council so both girls were free to come to a place they could be _home_.

"So, Master, what do we do about Fantasia this year?" Macao asked sadly, knowing that most people came for the lovely ladies, and Jellal chuckled. "We'll still do it, we have plenty of fantastic mages to have the parade. We need to plan now though, even though it's nearly a full year away, just so we can make it spectacular." The Heavenly Body mage was a natural leader, Erik smiled as he watched everyone pitch in ideas, and the poison dragon knew they'd be in good hands.

Sorano hummed. "Let's have a New Years Party." The whole group stopped, looking at her, and she blinked slightly. "What?" The crystal mage asked with a worried expression. "Sorano...you suggested we have a party." Wakaba pointed out. "So?!" The girl snarled, making the men jump in fear, and Macbeth huffed. "You complain when we party, Sora." Her eyes softened. "I always got dragged into Natsu's fights..." The somber mood returned and Gray smirked before hurling his mug across the room into Jet's face. "Oi!" The high speed mage jumped up and Gray smirked. "Got a problem, Jet?" Jet's teeth ground together and Sorano giggled as the brawl started up.

"He liiikkkeess you." Kasumi purred beside the crystal mage and Sorano bopped the Exceed on the head. "Shut it, you." Her face was tinted pink at the idea. Honestly, that cat sometimes.

 **FEBRUARY X785**

The party had been full swing, loud, and lasted from Christmas all the way through the middle of fucking January; Sorano was perched beside Gray, having taken him with her for an S-Class job, and the tag-team duo were sitting in the rafters of the old warehouse. They had to find out what the Red Hood guild was up to in their recent exploits around Crocus, having been spotted making sales of _something_ in alleyways and at street corners. The first thought was illegal magic, then the idea of drugs was bounced around, and so S-Class mages were called to figure out what was actually happening. The crystal mage had a polished quartz stone that she was using to listen in on the conversation of the two mages outside the warehouse, Gray was ready to attack the moment that he got any hints that they were doing something illegal. The Deputy of Red Hood was leaned against the building, a frown on his face, and it looked like he was waiting for someone. "Took you long enough." The man commented to the cloaked figure that walked up to him. "Shut yer' trap -dechi." The high pitched voice, female, replied as a petite hand was extended; the Deputy of Red Hood handed her a wad of money, which the cloaked figure began to count.

"You're short -dechi." The voice became intimidating, a low hiss, and Gray looked at Sorano as the crystal mage's eyes narrowed. "The fees are getting too damned high, all because of the fucking Balam Alliance bullshit." The man grumbled, handing over another wad of money, and his hands froze solid as she growled. "Low life guilds like yours aren't strong enough to avoid the council for that long -dechi. You're lucky that we're keeping those dogs off your back with our insiders, so you pay to stay out of jail -dechi. Or I could turn you in myself -dechi." The verbal tick was annoying, Sorano decided, but at least now they knew what was going on a bit; Red Hood had to make money somehow to pay their protection fee. "The Oracion Seis had better not up the price again or we're switching to work for Tartaros." The Deputy commented, a warning, and his frozen hands trembled. "Is that a threat -dechi?" Her low hiss had returned, her head tilting, and the man huffed. "A warning." He replied before turning to walk away, the cloaked female watching him, and the Fairy Tail mages saw the smirk on her lips only before the man's frozen hands shattered; he'd gone numb, from the ice, and now he had two stumps where his hands had been. "I don't take threats lightly -dechi." The girl warned before she turned and vanished in a swirl of fire.

" _Shit_." Gray whispered, Sorano nodding in agreement, and the man from Red Hood was stuck staring at where his hands had been moments before. The Fairy Tail mages jumped down, the quartz being sent to the small pocket that Sorano kept her crystals in after learning with Lucy how to ex-quip, and they ran out to the man. "Hey, you'll be okay, oi." Gray knew he was a member of a dark guild but the idea of someone using his own element to do something like that made him sick. "Come on, we'll call the council at the hospital." The man was in shock, his eyes wide, and Gray sighed before knocking him unconscious. It was a ten minute walk to the small clinic where they told the woman at the desk that a mage had frozen and shattered his hands, there wasn't much that could even be done, but he would have professional help now at least. The S-Class took out her communications lacrima and made sure to call Lahar, the man was strict but he was definitely loyal to the council.

"Miss Agria." He greeted, face lacking emotion, and her lips curled into a frown. "We're still trying to figure out how the Red Hood made the money they did but it was to pay the Oracion Seis, the Balam Alliance has spies in the council that help keep the dark guilds out of trouble, and now it's down to Tartaros and Oracion since Grimoire Heart has vanished." Her report was even toned, trying not to show her disdain for the man since he had a very well known desire to shut down Fairy Tail, and he nodded. "I see. I shall look into the situation with spies here and turn this into a full investigation, your reward will be waiting at your guild hall." The duo nodded and as they ended the link her eyes raised to look at Gray. "If we ever fight them...you'll have to take on that girl." He nodded, seeing as she was correct since he could handle the ice, and the duo headed for the train station. Violet eyes watched them as they walked, lips curled into a smirk, and the soft whisper was unheard to them. "They won't know what him 'em -dechi." The female purred before going to tell the boss about the Fairies.

 **MARCH X785**

The trio paused in their steps, Team Vigilante of Fairy Tail ( _Macbeth, Meredy, and Ultear_ ) had felt the presence of someone close by. The trio exchanged looks as Meredy tapped into her magic, using her powers she could 'sense' a person within a certain range. "Whoever it is uses Celestial Spirit Magic." Meredy whispered, feeling the distinct signature of magic around the gate keys on the mage, and Macbeth frowned. He knew from Lucy that the only other noteworthy celestial spirit user was Yukino, the younger sister of Sorano, but there wasn't reason for Yukino to be stalking them unless she was part of the dark guild that they were hunting. With a quick thought he created an illusion to mask their location, to try and catch the mage unawares, but as they looped around the clearing to find whoever it was there was a flash of bright golden light. The spirit that appeared before them was a lizard of some kind, it was about knee high but nearly ten feet long; the snout was rounded and a thick forked tongue slipped out of its jaws, the eyes were protected by hard bone and the claws were rounded and sharp while its scales gleamed a muddy green.

It hissed, a clear warning to back off, and as Ultear summoned her magic to attack it darted for her, moving faster than they expected, and she had to dodge out of the way while Macbeth searched for the mage behind the spirit. He caught a glimpse of red heels, golden stockings, and a purple skirt before there was a flash of light and she seemed to just vanish. "Damn, we lost her." Meredy commented, annoyed, and she looked at the two of them. "I think she was another mage from the Seis." Macbeth looked around again, letting his magic bend and reflect the light around them, and shook his head. "I want to know how the hell a Celestial Spirit Mage did that, Lucy never mentioned any spirits that could teleport people." Ultear was standing where the woman had been and frowned. "Not a spirit, another mage, but I'm no expert at reading magic types." Meredy closed her eyes, focusing, and the two mages protected her as she let her magic extend. Like Ultear the pink haired female had learned how to tap into a massive amount of power from a young age, when she sat and focused it the air felt thick and heavy, and Ultear smiled with pride while Macbeth felt the heat rise to his cheeks. Meredy was lovely in appearance, especially since she was letting her hair grow, and he couldn't deny his growing attraction to the maguilty mage.

"It was a type of lost magic, one I've never encountered before, but it was a make type magic." Macbeth nodded. "So the Seis have a maker mage, a celestial spirit mage, and an ice mage." Ultear hummed. "I can't think of who would be involved of the types of magic, Lyon isn't a part of the Seis and he's the only ice mage besides Gray that I can think of; maker mages...that could be anyone." Meredy stood up, dusting off the back of her tan shorts, and sighed. "We'll have to report back once we're done the mission, we still have to find out where the kidnapped mages are being taken to." Macbeth nodded and grabbed his communications lacrima, Jellal made sure all S-Class were equipped with one for reasons just like this. "Macbeth, what did you find out?" The Fourth Master of Fairy Tail looked exhausted, his eyes half closed, and behind him Erik was pouring over a stack of papers. "Almost done Makarov's back logged pile of reports?" Jellal sighed and Erik snarled in anger. "No, we're not even half-way through, but what's up?" Macbeth grumbled about stupid old men, Meredy claiming the sphere and shaking her head. "The Seis have a Celestial Spirit Mage...and chances are it's Yukino since she's the only note worthy mage we know of. They also have a maker type mage that has a lost magic...I've never encountered it before so I don't know it." Jellal sighed.

"Erik, contact the other guilds, we'll need to discuss sending out teams of mages to find them and take them out. Lahar discovered the spies but they killed themselves instead of talking...meaning that the Seis is vulnerable now since we _know_ why Tartaros will be okay." The poison dragon grunted, leaving the room, and Sorano's soft voice sounded from outside the vision of the orb. "We won't...you won't hurt Yukino...will you?" Macbeth and Jellal immediately shook their heads. "No, we're going to try and help her Sora, you know we wouldn't ruin your chance to be reunited with her again." The crystal mage appeared in the orb and smiled at the reflector mage. "Thanks, Mac, you guys do your mission and be careful." Ultear nodded, as did Meredy, and Macbeth smirked. "Always. You too, Sora, keep an eye on the morons until I get back." Sorano laughed while Jellal rolled his eyes. They ended the link and Macbeth looked at his team. "Let's finish this job." Meredy nodded with a determined grin.

 **MAY X785**

Bisca blushed crimson as she handed Alzack a single red rose, attached to it was a card, and she watched him read the shining golden script printed on the white rectangle. "Bisca...r-really?" She blushed darker, nodding, and he scooped her up. "We'll have to get married then, right away." The green haired woman nodded eagerly, their home silent as they looked around the small building, and Alzack held her close. "We have the perfect name too, all thanks to Lucy." Bisca whispered gently, her eyes closed, and they both grinned. "Asuka Connell. Our little sharpshooter." They spoke together, knowing that Asuka would be about six when the others returned, and they held hands as they talked about the joy that they were expecting. But outside the small a slim cloaked figure smirked under their hood, walking away with a weird gait due to the strange sway to their step, and they vanished in a flicker of warped light.

The ceremony was immediate, overseen by the Arch Bishop of the church himself, and Kardia Cathedral was alive with sound as the pair of gunners shared a kiss before leaving for their honeymoon; Jellal watched them, having been told the reason for their rush wedding, and smiled while Erik stood beside him. "There was a member of the Seis near their house yesterday, I caught the scent, but no trace was left behind." Erik whispered, earning a nod, and Warren looked at the two mages; he would be in a different room of the hotel but was going on the trip with them, along with Reedus, for protection. With the Seis on the move they couldn't trust anyone to be alone or in small groups of two until the danger was routed. Especially with Bisca pregnant. "Erik, I have a mission for you and a few others." Jellal turned to look at him and the poison dragon nodded. "You and Kasumi are to hunt down the small guilds under their control, thankfully Sol and Totomaru of the Element Four were wise enough to give us the list of how the Balam Alliance runs, and you are to take them out. If the Seis is making themselves known...we need to show them we aren't afraid to strike back. Take out their income however you see fit." Erik smirked, having noticed that Jellal still showed mercy but only when it was deserved, he was more lenient in ordering someone's demise, and the poison dragon was okay with that.

Erik didn't personally remember the time before, when he was _Dokury_ _ū no Cobra_ but he'd seen himself in Lucy's memories, in her very soul; he knew how ruthless, dangerous, and dark he had been before. He wasn't afraid to take that mantle up again if it meant handling a problem before it could spring up when Lucy returned. Their best known mages had vanished, Fairy Tail was being measured up by everyone, and he refused to risk the Seis striking when the members from Tenroujima returned at their weakest.

 **JUNE X785**

The guild master meeting was assembled, Jellal and Erik looking around the room, and the pair greeted the councilmen that sat at the large table; Lahar and Doranbolt nodded their heads in return of greeting, they needed to breach the issue of the Seis immediately. "All guild masters and their advisers, please hear out what we of the Council have come to say." Lahar's voice commanded silence, all Guild Masters turning their attention to him, and the councilman frowned. "In recent investigations we have learned that the Balam Alliance had spies within the council, it was how they managed to evade imprisonment for so long, and those spies were recently outed after an investigation done by Fairy Tail. I request a team of mages from every guild gather to seek out to capture the ring leaders of the Balam Alliance. Tartaros, Grimoire Heart, and Oracion Seis." The two Fairy Tail mages met gazes, Erik having paralyzed the small branch guilds and calling the council for their arrests, the Seis had been spotted more and more once their pay load was cut short. They knew Brain was still in charge, he was definitely still after Nirvana since they'd sent people out to the Worth Woodsea and seen signs of people within the forest; Erik had conversed with Roubaul, the spirit of the Nirvit tribe, and told him what he knew and the spirit had imparted that he'd seen a tall man with body link magic on him prowling around.

"How many per group?" Ooba, the old guildmaster of Lamia Scale, asked with a concerned look. "As many as you can afford to send, there will substantial rewards to the individuals and guilds who help." The masters all exchanged looks before nodding. "Of course, we'll help, Councilman. Blue Pegasus can dispatch a group of four." Bob spoke up with a soft smile. "Quatro Cerberus can send eight to help." Goldmine raised his voice to be heard over the dim whispers. "Lamia Scale will send six." Ooba smiled, a bit snide about the fact that she was offering more mages to help, and Jellal smiled as he looked at Erik. "Fairy Tail will send eight including myself." The blue haired youth offered with a smile. "Master Jellal, you will go as well?" He nodded at the Master of Mermaid Heel. "I see. Well I shall be sending four of my mages and the local independent mage Simon who also answers to me." The groups looked at one another and nodded, having come up with a small army to face the dark guilds, and Jellal looked around the room.

"I might suggest, in order to promote good relations between our guilds, that we make groups containing mages from as many different guilds as we can. At least one S Class mage per group would ensure that there would be maximum chance for success." Ooba nodded. "Indeed, boy, you're quite wise for such a young guild master. Thirty one mages have been named to fight the dark guilds of the Balam Alliance, we can make five groups of five and one group of six." It was Goldmine who hummed. "Two of my team are Exceeds and they can't be separated from their partners." Ooba nodded. "I have one Exceed that's in my group." Jellal glanced at Erik. "We have one as well. So not counting the Exceeds we have twenty seven mages." Lahar hummed. "Submit their names and that of the Exceeds and we shall arrange the teams in the council." The masters quickly assembled their lists and the councilmen worked on the teams while the guild masters talked about shutting down the Balam Alliance. The idea of good pay days, from the council no less, was rather exciting.

 **SEPTEMBER X785**

It had taken three months to assemble the teams of mages, there were six teams so that each one faced a mage of the Seis, and the number of dark guilds had dramatically lessened with Erik's interference prior combined with the other guilds sending mages out as well. Thankfully for Erik he had two of the pipsqueak dragon slayers so he could keep an eye on them, Wendy and Sting were in his group while Sorano had Rogue in her group, they knew to make sure the small dragon slayers were trained and walking the correct path. "A-ano...I heard that a lot of your members vanished." Wendy whispered as they walked through the Woodsea, hunting the location of the headquarters of the Oracion Seis, and Erik nodded. "Yes. The Third Master and a large portion of our guild's strongest vanished in December at the S-Class exams." He replied softly. "Lucy-san too?" His chest wrenched painfully. "Yes." He would be without her for _seven_ years, he would be stuck with a silent soul link and the hope that the seven years wouldn't change him too much, and Wendy lowered her eyes. "Lucy-san was so very nice when we met her, Lyon was upset when he wasn't put on a team with her for this job, she's...amazing." Erik smiled softly. "Yea, she is." He whispered, holding up a hand as he heard the sound of another soul nearby, and Wendy froze. Hibiki, Simon, Sting, Lector, and Carla looked around as they moved so they were standing with their backs to one another.

"So you did come." The group of five looked ahead to see the cloaked figure watching them, a female voice, and as she pulled the hood back her red eyes and strange smile made them all wary; she was young, around Wendy and Sting's age, but she felt powerful. "Who are you?" Wendy demanded, and the little mage grinned. "Flare Corona, the Fourth of the Oracion Seis." Her reply caught them off guard, her smirk growing, and she simply laughed before her hair began to glow. "You're here to stop us, right? Well I certainly can't let that happen." The girl declared before her head swung around. "Kamishigure Hotarubi!" They noticed the strands of red hair now, lining the trees and bushes around them, and then those strands exploded. Erik heard Wendy's scream, Sting's shout, and Hibiki hit the ground while Simon grunted; the poison dragon closed his eyes and let his scales activate. With a _lot_ of training he'd learned how to activate Dragon Force, his arms becoming scaled and clawed while his cheeks and legs were also covered in scales; his hair was spiked back more than usual and his magic pulsed in the air, he was an S-Class of Fairy Tail and one of Lucy's dragons, he refused to lose to a pint sized Flare Corona.

Sting's magic flared up, as did Wendy's, and the Sky Dragon looked at Erik. "I can cleanse your poisons, go nuts." That was why the council had paired them together it seemed, so Erik could _finally_ go all out, and he smirked in reply. "Dokuryū no Hōkō!" "Hakuryū no Hōkō!" The two attacks merged together in their path and the whirlwind of magic became far stronger, Flare's scream echoed in the air around them as the magic from the attack faded. When the dust settled they could only blink, Flare's hair was a little singed where she'd used it to protect herself, but the girl was mostly okay. The bags under her eyes were a bit more prominent, an effect of the poison no doubt, but she was grinning now. "It's her hair." Hibiki had his archive active, staring at the redhead, and he continued on speaking. "That hair of hers is her medium for her magic but the flames in her hair themselves are dragon's fire! It can deflect and weaken the attacks of opposing dragon magic." Hibiki declared with a smirk, watching as Flare nodded, and Simon held his hand out. "Dark Moment!" Hibiki had confessed to being able to give himself the temporary ability to see at night, the dragon slayers didn't need to rely on sight, but there was a huge chance Flare needed light.

"Wha-" The redhead ignited her hair, to get visibility, but it was only serving to give her opponents visibility on her. "Tenryrū no Hōkō!" Flare used her hair to block the incoming whirlwind only to miss the moment as Erik and Sting drew in close. "Hakuryū no Tekken!" "Dokuryū Rasengaku!" The poison laced kick struck home on her back, where her Seis Guild Mark sat, and Flare screamed as she was knocked to he ground; the poison was taking effect fast, her body trembling as her skin grew pale, and Wendy frowned. "I'm going to die here...aren't I?" Erik snorted at the little redhead. "There are few circumstances where I use poison that will kill and this isn't one of them, Flare, it's a paralyzing poison so we can haul your ass to the council." Simon picked the girl up and nodded, Erik having said he'd be responsible for getting their opponent to where the Councilmen were waiting with magic restricting cuffs. "Not bad for a pair of pint sized dragon slayers." Erik praised the kids as they walked to find some of the others, Wendy and Sting both pouted. "Oi! Watch how you address the Great Sting-Kun!" Lector snapped, the hero worshipping having started early it seemed, and Carla crosed her arms over her chest. "Honestly, Erik, have you no ability to just say 'job well done'?" Hibiki chuckled.

"I've known Erik for quite a while, Carla, and getting a compliment from him is hard enough; those two really did manage to impress him for that comment to be made." The Archive mage explained with a small smile, Wendy was studying Erik as Sting ranted about his greatness. "Will you train me?" His indigo eyes shifted back to look at her, Sting having fallen silent, and Wendy peered at him with a soft gaze. "I obviously can't learn Sky Magic from you but neither Jura-sama or Lyon-kun will get as serious with me during training that I think you would." Erik turned to look at the girl and nodded. "Sure, Sky Maiden, I'll help you get strong." Sting frowned. "Me too! You're a dragon slayer too and Weisslogia said I would need to learn from another slayer." Erik let out a small snort. "Keep the attitude in check and we'll make it a deal." Sting pouted. "What attitude?" Wendy giggled a bit and Carla shook her head. "It's incredible that such powerful mages are so young." Hibiki commented, more to himself, but Erik met his gaze as they herded the small dragons and their Exceeds toward the sound of fighting.

The group consisting of Jura, Ultear, Sherry, and Risley had fought Erigor; his wind magic had been strong but against the Tenth Wizard Saint, Ultear's insanely strong magic, Sherry's versatility, and Risley's gravity magic thrown in he'd fallen quite easily. The rocks that Jura called protected them from the wind, Risley's attacks hurt more because she'd increase gravity on her fists and feet before striking, and Ultear's thought projections confused the man into striking the wrong places while Sherry's dolls intercepted attacks as shields and guardians. They were also running toward the sounds of battle, Erik looking at Ultear as the female shared a worried expression with him, and the duo came to a screeching halt at the sight before them.

Two celestial spirits were battling against Sawyer and Bacchus, the first was a bull that Erik knew to be Taurus while the second was a fast spirit that reminded them of a giant fox, it was Ichiya and Arana facing the mage who had summoned them and Hibiki wen deathly still. "K-Karen!" Her eyes snapped to their faces, her weapon of choice was a long whip with small metal spikes jutting out of it at certain points down the cord, and her face went pale before she dodged a strike by Arana. "Taurus! Vulpecula! Now!" They watched the fox yip before it turned into a blue flaming creature that wrapped around Taurus' axe. "Fox Fire Axe!" The massive attack of fire engulfed everything around them and Wendy frowned. "Sky Dragon's Wind Wall!" The flames were halted by the pale green winds and Erik watched as Arana used her thread magic to capture Karen before Ichiya used his Parfum to knock the woman unconscious.

"That's three of them down." Sting commented with a grin as Bacchus ruffled his hair, Sawyer taking Karen to the Rune Knights; it was to Erik's surprise that the keys on her ring vanished. "When a mage is arrested their contracts with their spirits are ended." Hibiki explained softly, watching as the woman he'd once loved was taken away, and Erik patted his shoulder. "There's a chance she'll change." Hibiki blinked and offered a soft smile in thanks. Simon, Sawyer, and Sherry returned to them now that the other three mages were in the magic locking cuffs and Erik looked at the group of mages around him. "We need to make sure the council is unharmed as well, so I'm thinking we split the group. Some of us go to find the others and the rest go back to the councilmen." Arana nodded. "That's a good idea, I think we've taken out the weaker members now so all that's left are the strong ones." Jura nodded. "Indeed. Erik, myself, Wendy, Sting, and Ultear will go to find the others; everyone else go help protect the council." None argued with the wizard Saint on that order.

The group of five made tracks, running as fast as they could, to find everyone else; Carla, Lector, and Kasumi all flew ahead to scout. "Erik! This way!" Kasumi called, dodging a blast of ice that shot toward her, and the poison dragon went in that direction. "Wendy and Sting, come with me; Jura and Ultear are both insanely strong and won't need as much back up." The two mages smirked and split off toward the other two directions where the Exceeds had reported combat. Erik caught Kasumi as she dropped, a blast of fire having taken her down, and his snarl echoed. "Oh? I get the cutie -dechi!" The girl had short violet hair and a flame tail as well as the back of her head being on fire. "As if I'd be interested in someone like you." Erik snarled in annoyance. "Too bad -dechi." "Ice Make! Ice Geyser!" "Crystal Magic, Sapphire Rain!" The attack connected, making the woman scream, and Mattan Ginger growled at them as she shook off the attack. Gray pushed Sorano out of the way of her attack, the flames burning his skin, and Sorano's eyes widened before she blinked as Erik's poison laced punch slammed right into the enemy mage's head. Erik's pupils were slits, his scales active, and he was snarling in anger. Wendy crossed the space and began to heal Gray while Sorano stood up slowly. "Erik. Move." The poison dragon looked at her and the shadow dragon beside her, Rogue looked pissed, and the unconscious exceed in Millianna's arms was why.

"Mattan Ginger...you fucked with the wrong people!" Sorano snapped before she called out a large stone that Erik had only ever seen once, it was a large and jagged cut andradite; green garnet. "Crystal Magic, Andradite Drain!" The sphere began to pulse and the link of green magic connected Ginger with the stone before her own magic began to be sucked from her body; it was a spell that could be used to kill, meaning Sorano only resorted to it when she was royally pissed, and Erik watched as Rogue knocked the female unconscious when her magic was very low. As Sorano ended her spell she watched as the woman fell and Rogue quickly took her to the council through the shadows. "Are you alright?" Gray looked at Wendy and nodded, not even a scar remained from where she'd healed him, and Sorano smiled at the girl in thanks before Gray stood up; he didn't get to stay up for long seeing as Sorano lunged at him, slamming her lips to his, and he blushed seven shades of crimson as he kissed her back. "Do that shit later. Macbeth and Jellal are still out there." The duo glared at him but nodded only to watch the large pillar of stone shoot into the sky, taking with it a man with silver hair and glasses; Erik snorted. "Okay so maybe we're working with a little free time." They paused as a pillar of white light shot into the air in the other direction.

"Nope." Wendy chirped before jumping to her feet and running in that direction, as did the others, and Erik looked at Millianna and Ren. "Go help the others protect the council!" The pair nodded, Frosch having woken up and perched himelf in Rogue's arms, and the group split up once again. They ran past Wally and Kagura, who Jura had no doubt sent to help the others, and as they arrived at the tower of light Erik saw the large machine begin to emerge from the ground as the man that had once been Brain laughed. His eyes were red, like he'd ruptured his blood vessels in his eyes, and his skin was sickly pale. "Who the fuck is that?" Erik asked Jellal as Eve and Chelia carried an unconscious Sho away toward the council now that help was here. "Zero. He's destructive and plans to use Nirvana to destroy everything." Wendy frowned softly as Sting and Rogue exchanged looks. "We'll have to stop that thing somehow." The huge thing looked like a stone spider, everyone made their way up to stop Zero once and for all. Jura, Ultear, and Jellal took on the dark mage while the others went to stop the weapon from its path to destroy everything; Erik saw the lacrima and frowned, destroying it instantly, and paused when it began to regrow. _"It's powered by the others, they have to be destroyed together."_ It was Meredy who had spoken up and Erik knew she'd tell him when to strike.

" _Now!"_ The machine sputtered and stilled before Erik realized it was going to collapse, Kasumi grabbing his coat and hauling him out; he saw Rogue and Sting as well as Wendy floating by their own Exceeds, Sorano was holding Gray on top of a fine mist of amethyst while Macbeth and Meredy were on an ice tower made by Lyon. Jellal, Jura, and Ultear were on a large stone pillar while Zero lay on the ground. "How did you three beat him so fast?" Lyon asked in awe, the trio of powerful mages exchanged looks but said nothing on the matter, Erik noticed the tense shoulders of Ultear and Jellal; they'd expended a lot of magic to stop him, as had Jura, and now the Seis were going to prison.

 **DECEMBER X785**

The Fantasia Parade was a success, with the help of all the guilds they had put on such a fantastic show that Magnolia was crowded with tourists for a long time after; Sorano and Gray had gone public about their relationship, often caught holding hands or kissing when they thought nobody was looking. Erik had handed the mantle of Jellal's adviser to Ultear and began training the three slayers that had asked for his help, Kasumi by his side of course, and it was the anniversary of the day that the core members had gone missing that Erik felt a small touch of life in that empty soul link. He had been trying to sleep, struggling, and he wondered why he could feel her soul all of a sudden. _'I have asked a lot of her, in the time that she's been alive, so I must see to it that her brood is protected be it physically or emotionally.'_ Erik looked at Mavis as her Ethereal Form hovered beside him, her teal eyes closing, and Erik accepted that brief touch of comfort. "Thanks, Mavis." The blond smiled and began to sing a soft lullaby that only he could hear and his eyes drifted closed.

 _'Starlight...I love you.'_

* * *

 _This year had a lot going on, with the capture of the Seis, so it was a lot longer than what I'd anticipated. Since the chapters will be longer it'll be every other day or so that I can post them, depending on how much goes on in a year. Ha ha._


	136. Long Distance Lullaby - Year Two

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **LONG DISTANCE LULLABY – YEAR TWO**

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 **JANUARY X786**

The guild hall was silent, the cold air not even affecting them at the moment as they sat in the bottom floor and listened to the sound of Bisca screaming at Alzack; the pregnant woman had gotten bigger, and bigger, and finally Porlyusica ended up staying at the guild hall until deciding that since the green haired woman was getting to be past her due date that they'd induce her labor. It felt like days, even though it was only going on the tenth hour, that they'd listened to the pink haired healer snap at Bisca and Alzack both while the mother-to-be wailed and the father-to-be panicked. Wendy had come, along with Chelia, to practice their healing magic and learn from the old woman; go figure their first lesson was a crash course in how to deliver children. Sorano had laughed at the fact that they were going to experience it, gotten glared at by the old hag, and then the crystal mage found herself up there helping. Needless to say Erik had gotten beaten up for laughing but it was worth it.

It was after the fifteenth hour that they heard silence, the absence of sound was a worry with what was happening at the moment, and then they heard the most blessed sound of a baby crying. Erik smiled at the sound of the new soul merging with the sound of joy in the souls of the two parents, it was a beautiful sound really, and he smirked as Sorano walked down the stairs with Wendy and Chelia; the trio of women wore matching expressions of horror. Erik had to admit the punch for laughing at them was also worth it.

 **FEBRUARY X786**

Carla, Lector, and Frosch were training to hold their Aera out longer while the dragon slayers worked on their magic. Erik watched them, Sting and Rogue had a very high amount of latent magic from eating their element near constantly while Wendy only ate her element when she had to. The lone female was currently working on meditating and absorbing magic, to increase her stores, and the poison dragon found himself humming the soft melody that had helped keep his nightmares from coming back. He knew Sting and Rogue were going to progress much faster than Wendy, for now, because of their magic being taken care of so readily; once the sky dragon began working on eating air frequently to feed her magic she would grow exponentially, after all she did have one of the most easily accessible elements there was.

"Ne, Erik, what's Lucy like?" Sting asked suddenly, making the poison dragon's heart clench, and Rogue seemed to be listening rather closely too. "She is...Lucy is like...home. I know it's not something you'll understand yet but when I think of her I know I'm home, wherever she is I'm safe and sound and I'll be okay." He replied, his tone a grumble since he _hated_ admitting that she had such a hold over him. Wendy's eyes were soft as she listened while Sting and Rogue tilted their heads in confusion. "Like I said, you won't quite get it yet, don't worry about it too hard." His indigo eyes closed and Kasumi clapped her paws. "Alright, everyone, time to work." The normally lazy exceed hated when her best friend got sad and just this once decided that she'd try hard to stop the cloudiness in his eyes, she smiled when the dragon slayers ignored the salt that touched the air, and Erik offered her a grateful expression before it melted away.

 **MAY X786**

The sky dragon stood firm, facing down the mage across from her, and Erik grunted in pain as he was sent catapulting across the clearing by the hit from the stone monster they'd run into on their job. "Tenryū no Yokugeki!" Her attack lashed at the man and he dodged the streams of wind as she growled in annoyance, in the three months she'd been training her magic had grown exponentially and she'd gotten more in touch with her instincts; her growling and snarling was starting to scare people. Just like with this guy, the moment the sound started he looked alarmed, and her hair whipped around her. "W-wha..." The barrier of wind trapped him in place, she heard Sting and Rogue both cheer behind her, and the girl felt the power building up in her hands. "Shōha! Tenkūsen!" The stone golem crumbled as the mage controlling it dropped, his body hitting the ground with a satisfying thud, and Erik looked at the girl as she took a few heavy breaths.

In the three months he'd worked with her she had grown exponentially, she was doing far better with offensive spells, and her power was only growing more and more. He cast a glance at Sting and Rogue as the two boys ran to her and cheered, Sting capturing her in a tight hug while Rogue only smiled, and the poison dragon let his eyes close. ' _If you could only see them now, Starlight._ ' He thought with a bit of wistfulness, Kasumi perched on his shoulder as the exceeds all crowded their slayers, and the elder slayer clapped his hands. "Laps, get to it, we're still training." The three teens looked at him for a moment before groaning and breaking into a run, the mage that had attacked them wasn't their job after all, and he began following as Kasumi began working with the exceeds. The kids were strong but if they were going to stop Zeref then they needed to be at their peak when the time came.

 **SEPTEMBER X786**

Pain, a dull throbbing pain, worked its way up his right arm; the poison dragon glanced down at the iv that was injecting him with an odd liquid, his body strapped down to a table, and he vaguely registered the sound of soft chuckling. "So poison antidotes have the effect on you that poison does on a normal human." A hauntingly empty woman's voice seemed to echo through his mind, Erik struggling a bit more as the pain began to get sharper, and he realized then that his vision in his right eye was beginning to fail him. Due to his poison nature Porlyusica had to design the artificial eye a little differently than she had done with Erza's eye, his had to be designed to handle the poison blood running through his veins so his magic didn't reject it, and with them giving him antivenin he was suffering the potential loss of his right eye.

The door trembled and froze over before it was shattered, seeing Gray and Sorano charge into the room, and the IV was cut by an ice lance and Erik felt the burning in his eye begin to fade. Go figure Ivan Dreyar was still a bastard and had set his sights on the poison dragon with Makarov and Laxus being gone. "Hey, you alright?" Gray asked as he broke the heavy iron bands holding the tanned male down, the magic null binds had made him desire to murder people, and the poison dragon nodded as he felt his magic flare to counter the antivenin in his system. "Your eye is all types of fucked up, dude." Gray explained, showing him the mirror, and the poison dragon couldn't help but look at it in surprise; he could still see out of it, really well actually, but looking _at_ it revealed the popped blood vessels that made the sclera of his eye an insanely dark red around the indigo of his iris. "Shit." Porlyusica would have to look at it when he got back to Magnolia.

 **OCTOBER X786**

It had been two weeks and the dark red had yet to go away, the pink haired healer scowled in annoyance that someone had done that to her artificial eye, but she knew she couldn't stop it from happening since he _was_ an S Class mage. "I can either remove it or make you an eye patch that allows you to see out but nobody else to see in." Erik closed his eyes, a little worried about the idea of losing his eye, he really didn't want to have to wear a damn eye patch. "Wait, let me take a look at it!" Wendy pleaded, her expression determined, and the pink haired healer looked at the girl; while it was true that Wendy was a great healer she was prone to getting _rid_ of poisons. "Very well." Porlyusica stepped back and let Wendy step up, Chelia beside her watching, and the sky dragon held her hands up to Erik's eye. "Please try not to fidget." He nodded and her hands began to glow, the feeling of discomfort spread through him before it faded rather fast. When the girl began to sweat he felt that small tingle of pain return before it faded again and she pulled back. "Incredible." Chelia whispered softly.

"What did you do?" Porlyusica asked as she examined the eye, there was no more damage at all, and the sky dragon was breathing a little heavier. "I had to force the two to accept one another once again so I had to change the eye to match his blood, the antivenin lessened the strength of your poison blood so you'll just have to rebuild that toxicity that was lost." Wendy explained as she took a deep breath of air before drinking down a glass of water, it was obvious she'd used a lot of energy, and Erik nodded as she began eating air to replenish her power. "I'll do that, thanks sky maiden." The girl nodded and Chelia giggled. "It's a good thing we've been training with Porlyusica-san." The pink haired girl commented with a grin before the pair were forced to get back to studying their textbooks and Erik was released to head back to the guild.

 **DECEMBER X786**

It was a huge party for the guilds that were assembled, the Christmas Party was getting out of hand already, and Bisca laughed as she bounced her nearly year old child in her arms while Alzack emerged dressed as this year's Santa Claus. The guilds all cheered and laughed as the Exceeds flew around and tricked people with mistletoe, the kids chased one another in an attempt to get tickets for the presents, and the adults drank and cheered. Jellal was sitting with Goldmine of Quatro Cerberus, Bob of Blue Pegasus, Ooba of Lamia Scale, and Mikene of Mermaid Heel. The Guild masters looked around the room, studied the faces of everyone, and Jellal noticed that a certain slayer and his red and white exceed were missing. But he had a feeling he knew where they were.

Away from Fairy Tail, standing among a field of snow covered stones, Erik stood before the monument and brushed the snow from the shining brass plate. "Hi Jude. Hi Layla. I'm back again, with Kasumi, we brought hot chocolate and another book to read to ya." Erik spoke with such a soft voice, a little saddened, but he was content. He perched himself on the ground after setting down a magic infused blanket that would stop him from getting either drenched pants or freezing. "I brought Les Misérables last time, that was a crazy adventure, but this time I brought Wuthering Heights. Jellal said it was a good read so if it's awful we can make sure he knows that." The poison dragon commented with a grin. "1801- I have just returned from a visit to my landlord- the solitary neighbor that I shall be troubled with." He started reading in a comfortable cadence as the red and white Exceed sat in his lap. Beside him Mavis sat down and listened, peering over his arm to read with him, and Erik resisted the urge to smile.

* * *

 **Not so much happens this year, the Seis are locked away and Tartaros hasn't started any problems quite yet, but we see Wendy is getting more confident in herself and her powers.**


	137. Long Distance Lullaby - Year Three

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **LONG DISTANCE LULLABY – YEAR THREE**

* * *

 **JANUARY X787**

 _The inky black dragon peered across the plains before him, a replica of the high grass plains he'd found Rogue in when the dark mage had abandoned his creations, and Skiadrum let his mind wander to the developments that had happened. His Little Mother had saved him and the other dragons so long ago and they would soon be reunited one last time, he truly couldn't believe that there were humans so kind as her to just take in seven infant dragons, but he couldn't deny that he was eager to see her once more. Metalicana had raised Gajeel to be her Alpha, Viper's instincts had led Erik to be her Beta, but Skiadrum had found ways to branch out when Rogue was sleeping to save her. As he had when Grimoire Heart first captured her, it had taken a lot of power that Rogue himself barely had, but with her in danger he'd felt her calling to them._

 _The shadow dragon was grateful to the poison slayer for helping teach Rogue, Erik was doing good to steer the children in the right direction as far as growing their powers and listening to their instincts more, but there were things that Erik couldn't teach the three young slayers about their magic. Skiadrum focused his magic, as the young ones were all asleep, and reached out to souls of the dragons around him. Erik hadn't known it, or perhaps he had back then, but he had unknowingly created a link of all the souls of the slayers and the dragons with Lucy as the center of that link. It was how the slayers knew to come to her, how she was able to keep growing stronger, and it was how he could reach out to the souls of the dragons in order to speak with them._

 _Grandine's soft voice was like an echo, followed by the deep hum of Weisslogia's voice, and Viper's words were partially distorted since his soul had been sealed in a lacrima rather than merged to Erik through the transfer. "Skiadrum?" He could see them, in his minds eye, and hummed. "Yes, Grandine, I had just enough power to call to you all. We need to finish the transfer so that our slayers can grow strong enough to help Little Mother stop the dark mage Zeref." The shadow dragon informed them, his tone pleading, and he felt all of them as their souls echoed with a touch of worry. "I know but...we never did figure out what would happen if we completed the transfer with our souls fractured as they've been." Grandine whispered, her voice sad. "I want to see Little Mother at least one last time." The sky dragon sounded so sad and Skiradrum felt Viper reach out to her._

" _We will, Grandine, I promise. I've already begun the process, it's partially why Erik's been in a bad mood since it's causing him physical discomfort, but I still feel strong so far." The dragons all felt their slayers stir and Skiadrum's reach faded._

Wendy's eyes blinked open, a wide yawn escaping her, and she looked around the clearing; she'd sworn she heard voices, that was what had caused her to wake up, but she didn't hear anything. There was a scent in the air that was familiar, the scent of her mother, but it was as if the smell was distant; the sky maiden looked up, wondering if Grandine had flown overhead, and saw nothing but the night sky. "Wendy?" Erik looked half awake, his ears twitching, and the sky maiden hummed. "S-sorry, I thought I heard voices." He yawned and nodded. "I did too." He confessed as he held his arms open, allowing the girl to lean on him to sleep, and as they both slipped into a light slumber Sting and Rogue slid over and curled up on him as well.

 **FEBRUARY X787**

 _Grandine was proud of her little slayer, Wendy had mastered tapping into Dragon Force. After one month the last transfer of their magic was completed, the kids all had the strongest magic they would get from their parents, and the sky dragon was happy for the girl as Wendy had grown to a level of strength that was beyond what anyone would expect of someone so young. If in the open air she could absorb the ethernano in the air through her scales when she was in Dragon Force, a near infinite source of power, but she couldn't handle tapping into that much magic for very long otherwise it would begin to physically hurt her. Thus she was working on extending the time she could remain in Dragon Force, most of it was increasing her own physical power, and the two other dragon slayers were getting just as strong. When there were many shadows Rogue was near unstoppable, when there was a lot of light then Sting was at his peak, and Erik's own magic was growing faster and faster._

 _The slayers all had slit pupils, their teeth sharp and their senses sharper, but Erik's ears had developed a point and his eyes had a more feral edge to them much like Gajeel's had._

The sound of howling winds filled the air as the tornado of pale green sky magic engulfed the large group of mages, Wendy's hair had gone pink and her eyes were sky blue while white scales covered the outside of her arms and legs and feathers had grown off her ears. The sky slayer let out an impressive snarl as she watched Rogue leap out of the shadows and take down a group of mages with a single slash, Sting and Erik cleaning up the other side of the clearing, and all that stood was the castle-like building. The group slipped inside, silent, and stared at the black pieces of paper that littered the floor; a chill ran down their spine collectively. "Oh? Did I miss a group?" The woman had a white helmet that covered a large portion of her face and the dragons began to panic within their slayers, not only did they recognize the demon before them but they had to get their slayers out of there before it was too late, and Wendy's eyes flashed dangerously before the sky maiden snarled and created a barrier of pale green wind. "We have to get out of here." Her instincts were making her jump, causing her to panic, and the young girl led them away.

"Why do I feel like...I've seen her before?" Rogue asked slowly, nervously, and Erik shook his head. "I have no fucking clue but the magic power she had was beyond anything I've ever felt." The confession of the poison dragon made the three younger slayers frown before deciding they were better off trusting their instincts. "So what do we do? Our job was to shut that dark guild down." One of the few lower tier guilds under Tartaros' reign, considering the guilds working for the Seis were either captured or just gone, and Rogue spoke up before the others could stop him. "I'll go check it out in the shadows." He phased into the inky darkness before they could stop him and allowed the cool chill of the shadows to comfort him, he watched from the darkness as the woman Kyouka taunted the Master of the guild before using some spell on him. The man trembled before his body grew black and he became the same as everyone else within the building, Kyouka didn't seem to notice his presence as she left, and the Shadow Dragon waited until he was sure she was gone before emerging from the shadows and examining the room.

What were they looking for here? He checked the desk, all of the documentation was still in place, there wasn't anything stolen or hidden in the way of money or financial paperwork; had she just done this to everyone because she could? The dragon slayer checked the main hall to see there wasn't a single person left, everyone was gone, and his eyes closed as he let out a soft sigh before melding back into the shadows.

 **MAY X787**

Sting and Rogue smiled at Wendy as they handed her the gifts they'd gotten her for her birthday, from Rogue she'd gotten a new set of hair ribbons while Sting had gotten her a really cool book he'd found on sky magic. The young female wrapped her arms around them in a hug, Lamia Scale was having a huge party to celebrate after all, and Erik patted her on the head before dropping a bag in front of her. "Eh?" The young girl peered inside and grinned as she looked up at him, the charm on the necklace was a star with wings, it was a lovely piece of jewelry and it was something she'd seen on a job. "I didn't realize you'd gone back to get this." Erik smiled. "I bought it that day, actually, when you three passed out after training." Wendy smiled brightly as he put it on for her. "I love it, it's pretty." In her heart she'd seen her bond with Lucy, her soul recognized the blond and this was a means of her having something of the Celestial Mage with her, and Erik couldn't deny her adoration of the woman Wendy would one day fall in love with.

"Come on, we should get some cake before Toby eats it all." He nudged them over toward the birthday cake as Sting and Rogue cheered.

 **SEPTEMBER X787**

The Council all exchanged worried looks, none of them willing to speak up at the moment, and Jellal felt his ire rise; the Seis had vanished, one minute they were in their cells and the next they were gone. The blue haired guild master quickly made a thought projection to the guild, if the Seis targeted them there would be problems. Erik was on a job with Sting, Rogue, and Wendy while Sorano was running the place until he returned. "Sora." Her eyes raised to him, she recognized it as a thought projection in moments, and her look matched his grim expression. "I know, the Seis are free." She supplied, earning a nod, and her eyes gleamed with anger. "Macbeth is missing, totally MIA, Gray and Warren are currently on the job of hunting him down; Kasumi was with him, since she wanted to get something for Erik's birthday so she stayed back, and Macbeth sent her to get help. It was Rustyrose, the bastard that has the Arc of Embodiment magic, that found them. Apparently that Flare girl wasn't there." Jellal nodded.

"Flare was given probation, Ivan Dreyar is in charge of her, she's a part of Raven Tail now." Sorano nodded. "Yes. Also...Yukino has joined Sabertooth." Jellal could see that the girl wanted to find her sister but it was for the best that they waited, if Sorano ran to find Yukino now...there was a chance that Yukino wouldn't strive to work as hard as before. The girl had admitted to Lucy that her drive was the goal of finding her older sister one day. "We'll make sure that it's a good place once more." The crystal mage nodded as the doors to Fairy Tail opened, Warren carrying a seriously injured Macbeth on his back while Gray limped into the room behind him. "What happened?" Sorano shot to her feet, guiding her boyfriend to a chair, and Warren let out a groan of pain. "The Seis...well...now there are only four of them. They're a branch of Raven Tail now, Ivan legally had them pardoned, and he's still after Fairy Tail." Warren managed to speak, setting Macbeth down, and Jellal's eyes narrowed.

 _'Does that mean that nobody will be on the hunt for the Infinity Clock?'_ Jellal understood now why Lucy was worried to tell people about the fact that she had an idea of what the future held, there was no way to tell what would and wouldn't happen, and if nobody came for the Infinity Clock then the Tenrou group would have the chance to train before the Dai Matō Enbu. "We'll have to keep an eye on Raven Tail." He decided with a grim look, wondering if he should have someone join the guild as a spy, and the blue haired male blinked as Laki giggled. "I'll burrow into the den of dark feathers, Master." He blinked before understanding her words. "Are you sure, Laki?" She nodded and he waved his hand, her Fairy Tail mark vanishing. "Send reports only when it's safe, members and finances...anything that seems important." Thankfully Ivan hadn't known Laki, she wasn't a member from when he was there, so they hopefully didn't have to worry about him catching her.

"Understood." The purple haired mage left the hall with a light hum, thankfully Laki was the type who didn't seem too worried about little details when she was actually really observant, she would be a good mole and with how hard it was to understand her sometimes there was a lower chance of her being caught. "We'll have someone put a watch out too." Sorano decided, earning a nod from Jellal as he canceled the thought projection.

 **NOVEMBER X787**

Fantasia had been a huge success with the help from the other guilds, Jellal had invited them to take part this year, and the fans were a huge mix of people from all over Fiore. Even members from other guilds who weren't a part of the parade were here, Jellal had spotted Laki too beside Flare. His float was a giant space theme, since he used Heavenly Body Magic, and he had done a tribute to Lucy by making small lights in the varying constellations in the sky. He was the tail end of the parade, the final float, and he couldn't help but smile as the crowd let out gasps of awe and glee. Jellal created stars of fire and water, using his wind magic to make them dance, and smiled as the crowd filled in behind his float.

It was hours later when the participants were all back at the guild that Jellal noticed that Erik was sitting with Wendy and the dragon slayers; they were talking in hushed voices, their exceeds all sitting on the table, and he wondered just what they were talking about so gravely. He chose not to listen in, seeing as he didn't want to intrude if it was personal, but he could tell something was wrong.

 **DECEMBER X787**

It was silent as he walked through the stones, the group behind him silent, and as they arrived at the place he spent every holiday Erik spread the blanket and pulled out his book. "Hello Jude, hello Layla. Merry Christmas. I've brought other people with me this time, they're good friends of ours, and I wanted you to meet them." Sting and Lector were rather solemn, strangely so, and Wendy couldn't help but think of how wonderful Erik was for doing this in Lucy's stead. She'd started coming with him to tend to the graves, after finding him doing it once, and Sting and Rogue had asked to spend Christmas with him this year. Once they learned what he did the pair had said they wanted to come anyway, that they wanted to meet Jude and Layla, and Wendy had been offered to join along with the exceeds. Frosch giggled. "Hello Jude, hello Layla! I'm Frosch, I haven't met Lucy yet but I can't wait!" Lector grinned. "I'm Lector and I'm so excited, Lucy sounds awesome!" The green Exceed tossed his hands up. "Fro think so too!" Erik smiled at them as Kasumi perched on his shoulder.

Mavis appeared beside him, though the trio of kids and their exceeds wouldn't see her, and Erik started reading the book he'd chosen this time. Fahrenheit 451 was a book he'd heard about from the owner of the library, it was a world where books were illegal, and he'd decided to bring that one this time. Wendy was sitting between his legs while Sting and Rogue were both leaned on one arm, Kasumi on his head while Carla was sitting in Wendy's arms and each boy held their exceeds.

* * *

 **The trio of kids are getting closer to Erik as the years go by. Only four more years to go til Northstar comes home!**


	138. Long Distance Lullaby - Year Four

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **LONG DISTANCE LULLABY – YEAR FOUR**

* * *

 **JANUARY X788**

Asuka was getting big, the two year old girl was toddling around in her bright red boots and overly large cowgirl hat, and Bisca was giggling as the little girl shot her pop gun; just like her parents the girl was a sure shot, getting bulls-eye after bulls-eye, and Erik couldn't help but watch the little girl as she giggled merrily. Most of the women were going through baby fever now, including Sorano, but the crystal mage had made it abundantly clear that she wasn't having kids quite yet. Gray seemed far too eager to comply with that notion. Then again nobody wanted the baby to pick up his stripping habit, it was funny to see kids shed their clothes every now and again, but having three people constantly stripping would be a nightmare. "Ne, Erik, don't you have to go on a job soon?" His indigo eyes shifted to look at Macbeth, the reflector mage was recovering nicely from his attack thanks to Wendy and Chelia, though even Erik could see the small touch of pain in those eyes of his. "Yea, the kids are being escorted here by Lyon and Jura; those two plan to stay here, Jura wants to talk with Jellal and Lyon is starting to become civil to Gray again." Macbeth nodded and his eyes showed concern, minimal of course since he wasn't an emotional person, but Erik knew what to look for.

The poison dragon clapped a hand on the paler man's shoulder, his eyes promising his safe return, and Macbeth nodded before walking away; Erik could hear that Macbeth was concerned but neither man was overly vocal about their feelings and that was alright. "Erik!" Wendy sprinted through the door with Chelia beside her, beaming widely, and the poison dragon quirked his brow as the girl held out a box to him. "Sorano told me your birthday passed already, you should have said something." The girl chided as he accepted the gift, Erik's eyes finding Sorano, and the crystal mage smiled at him before turning away. "Thanks, Wendy." He replied, not wanting to make a huge deal about it, and as he opened the gift he realized it was capsules of poisonous herbs ground up into pills. A quick fix for if he was low on power. "We got you something too!" Sting and Rogue shouted as they came racing into the room, handing him boxes of their own, and even the exceeds all handed him small boxes. Most of it was poisons but he was rather surprised that Rogue had gotten him sound pods, the earphones were ear buds so they were easy to hide, and the poison dragon smiled a bit.

The reason Laxus always wore them was because it helped drown out the stupid background noise around him, just what Erik needed. "Thanks, kid, you're alright." He patted Rogue on the head and the dark haired slayer smiled. "Fro thinks so too!" His partner shouted joyfully. "What about me?!" Sting wailed sadly as Erik slid the book he'd gotten from the blond into his travel bag. "You're getting' there." Erik teased as he ruffled Sting's hair and led them out of the hall.

 **APRIL X788**

Romeo's eyes narrowed in concentration, his father's condition for him joining the guild as a mage was to be able to hold the purple flames in his hand active for ten minutes. The boy, in his stubborn nature, had both hands alight with purple fire as he sat in the lotus position. He could hear everyone whispering, watching him, and he _refused_ to mess up. _'Watch me, Natsu-nii, I'm going to do it!'_ Romeo Conbolt knew he was sweating, he was drawing close to the time, and as the timer went off he heard his father grumble as Meredy let out a loud cheer. The fire in his hands died down, a grin forming on his face, and Romeo blushed as Wendy wrapped her arms around him and Meredy joined in on the hug. "Good job, kid, I knew you could prove that old fart wrong." Erik laughed as Macao glared, the man was looking far better this time around without the added stress of being a guild master, and Jellal held up the stamp. "Where did you want your mark?" Romeo grinned. "On my shoulder, in red." He declared, smiling, and Sorano couldn't help the pain in her chest; his shirt was just like Natsu's, except it was red, and he was in cargo pants and sandals just like the pink haired slayer. Romeo had _always_ admired Natsu but seeing this...it was adorable and painful.

"When can I go on my first job?" Romeo asked happily, practically dancing, and Macao looked ready to panic as Erik ruffled the boy's hair. "With us, that way I can train you along with the other brats." Romeo grinned, technically Wendy and the other two slayers were teenagers now but it didn't matter to Erik; they were still brats, they would always be brats, and they'd be brats he'd have to share with. "Oi!" Sting shouted, frowning, and Erik let out a snort of amusement before rolling his eyes. "Let's go already." He snatched a job off the board, ignoring Macao's shouts and the large group left. "Don't worry, Macao, Erik won't let anything happen to Romeo and you know that." Macbeth reassured the old man, the Reflector mage had finally been cleared for jobs again and had plans to go out with his team once more, Meredy and Ultear waved at the worried father. "I know but Romeo is my only boy." Wakaba snorted. "He's a mage's kid, he'll be fine." Macao nodded. "You're right. We'll have to drink to a successful first job when h gets back." The man decided with a smile.

 **JULY X788**

 _The breeze could have been called cool, if she were able to feel it, but it could also be a stifling heat. The golden orb surrounded them, a safety net to protect them from the lingering magic of Acnologia's roar, and the First Master of Fairy Tail looked across the unmoving forms of her family. "It will be a tremendous task for you, Lucy Heartfilia, to end not only Zeref but Acnologia as well; I wish this task wasn't left to you...but you aren't alone this time." Mavis whispered, the blond girl had more than enough help this time around, and her teal eyes softened. Not only had Artemis helped her by granting her power but Lucy had seven dragon slayers and their scaly parents, the blond girl would be more than ready to face whatever challenges came her way; it was with a gentle smile Mavis decided to check up on Lucy's family._

 _Erik was at Jude and Layla's graves with Wendy, Sting, Rogue, the exceeds, and Romeo; the guild hall was alive with celebrations as everyone drank to Jellal's birthday, and the members of Fairy Tail were simply happy. While the undercurrent of pain from missing their loved ones was present...they knew their nakama would return. Mavis couldn't help but smile, their bonds were so very strong this time around, in saving the lives of the dragons Lucy had also saved the lives of many people. While it was indeed true some people were still living their original lives, some being given an even harder life, but the founder of Fairy Tail had faith that her descendant would bring them back._

" _You know what I'll have to do." Teal met blue, the pair watching the still body of the girl below them, and Mavis looked at the figure beside her. "I know, and I won't tell her, but we both know she'll be fine." The two exchanged grave looks. "It's almost over, her journey, and once she's done with the fate that was given her...she can finally be at peace." Mavis finished, looking down at the girl with a very warm smile. "Good." The blue eyed woman vanished and Mavis looked down at the girl. "Lucy Heartfilia...you are the Key to the Starry Heavens, the Guiding Light of Fairy Tail, and you are the one that will end the darkness that is attempting to smother the light. Be strong. Be brave. We will all stand beside you." Mavis whispered gently._

 **AUGUST X788**

The air was hot, too hot, and the members of Fairy Tail sat around the pool relaxing; Max had closed up shop, far too few people were even outside, and Romeo was training with Rogue and Sting while Wendy sat beside Erik. The exceeds were all off training on their own, working on some secret, and Erik glanced at the three younger dragon slayers. "So when the hell are the three of ya just gonna join Fairy Tail?" He asked, figuring that four years of training them was long enough to bring the subject up, and Wendy poked her fingers together gently. "A-ano..." Erik knew it was selfish, the trio of them had been happy at home in their guilds after all, but he was sort of hoping to have it as a surprise for his lovely blond when she returned. "We'll join when we finally get to meet your Lucy." Sting commented loudly. "If it weren't for everyone reassuring us she existed I'd think she was made up." Erik glared at the boy, who stared back, and the poison dragon had to admit Sting had come far. He wasn't as whiny and obnoxious as he used to be, though he was still too much like Natsu, and now a sharp glare wasn't the only intimidation the boy needed to back down. "Fine. Three years then." Wendy blinked. "You know when they'll be back?" Erik shrugged. 'It's a rough guess." He replied, standing up to leave, he hated bringing up Lucy right now. It was more than halfway to the time that she'd come home and he was getting more and more anxious.

The dark soul link was beginning to bother him, Mavis herself admitted that there were lingering amounts of Acnologia's magic and trying to break the sphere would put the others at risk, the poison dragon had almost taken a boat out to examine the area but knew that there was really very little point in doing so. It would put himself at risk too and he would not risk getting hurt ore than necessary before Lucy could come home. "Erik?" He blinked at the redhead before him, her mocha skin much like his own, but her soft gold eyes had slit pupils and her skin had lighter colored freckles on her cheeks and shoulders. "What's wrong?" He stared at her some more, trying to figure out who she was, and then her ears stood up; the red furry triangles had white spots on them. "Kasumi?" Her eyes widened and she nodded, a poof of magic returned her to her feline body. "Yea, the others and I are working on transformation magic, Carla and I can do it but Lector and Frosch are still struggling a bit...but then again Fro can't decide if he wants to be a human or a frog." Erik smiled and held his partner to his chest.

"I can only imagine. Let's go get some food." The exceed nodded and they left the pool area together, passing Carla and the two other exceeds on their way.

 **OCTOBER X788**

Halloween, Wendy loved it for the candy, but now that she was older it was just for the chance to see Quatro Cerberus' annual costume contest. Sting and Rogue always picked a pair costumes, the last year they had been a salt and pepper shaker. Wendy stood beside Carla, in her human form this time, and they had chosen to be an Indian and a cowgirl respectively. Wendy had her hair braided down the front while her outfit was made of deer hide that she'd actually hunted and made herself, the top was strapless but she had a short poncho that covered her shoulders and breasts, the hem of the top stopped at her natural waist while the skirt stopped just above her knees with a small fringe of lighter fur at the bottom; on her waist was a dark brown leather belt that tied together in the front by black leather strips and it matched the dark brown of her knee high boots, the most inaccurate thing about her outfit really.

Carla had her white hair curled and messy, to help hide her ears, with a tan hat and a dark red flannel top that had the sleeves folded to the elbow; her pants were thick jeans, complete with brown leather boots, and she wore thick darker brown leather chaps over her jeans. The pair looked around the stage and finally saw Sting and Rogue waving at the crowd, eyes going wide, and then the rest of Quatro Cerberus emerged. They were all in drag. Every last one of them. "What the hell is going on?!" Carla asked in shock, Sting had his hair pulled into short twin tails while Rogue's hair was sleeked into a pixie style; the blond dragon wore a white and pale blue dress that stopped at his knees, his feet in strappy silver sandals, and the dress was a tube dress so he had a sparkly pale blue shawl. Rogue was in a black and dark red dress, the twin of Sting's dress, with strappy black sandals. "We lost a bet." Lector spoke up from behind them, Frosch beside him, and the pair of exceeds were in fairy costumes; though Frosch was utterly adorable since he wore his frog costume under his fairy costume.

"You lost a bet?" Wendy asked, looking back at the two men, and Lector sighed as he looked away. "Y-yea. Master Goldmine put our costume theme on the line in a card game with Master Bob..." The Blue Pegasus Master was cheering at the sight before him, some of the men obviously uncomfortable seeing as they were tugging at their dresses, and Bacchus was schmoozing the hell out of the crowd since he was too drunk to care if he was in a dress...much less clothing. "Huh. Well...if it helps I think you all look pretty." Wendy commented, knowing Sting and Rogue could hear her, and she had to resist the urge to giggle when she heard their faint growls, it was hysterical and she planned to use this against them for _years_ now. "I bet Erik would love to see it." The poison dragon had chosen not to come this year, having been assigned to meet up with Laki for a report, and Frosch grinned. "Fro thinks so too!" Lector shook his head in annoyance again as Carla smirked very slightly.

 **DECEMBER X788**

It was quiet, still, and Erik sat alone this time as he read aloud to the monument before him; Mavis had let him feel how much residual energy was left from Acnologia's breath attack, it was still too high to risk anything, and he was particularly down so he'd snuck out here. Kasumi would join him, no doubt with the other slayers, but he needed some time here alone. "Jude...Layla...I'm trying but...I miss her so damn much." He had confessed to them, knowing they wouldn't judge, and he'd sworn he felt someone's arms wrap around him. The poison dragon didn't know if he could last another three years but he would do his damned best, that's all.

* * *

 **Almost there! I promise Erik you'll have her back!**


	139. Long Distance Lullaby - Year Five

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **LONG DISTANCE LULLABY – YEAR FIVE**

* * *

 **JANUARY X789**

The tail end of the month seemed to bring everyone down, Asuka had fallen ill and Erik was going on more and more jobs alone; Jellal ran a hand through his hair as Sorano sat beside him, Macbeth had gone missing again and Erik was hunting him down alongside the other slayers. Laki had reported in about Raven Tail, Ivan was good at manipulating the others but the purple haired Wood Make mage was far too intelligent and far too devoted to Fairy Tail to fall for his bullshit, apparently with the 'reform' of the Seis the council was lifting their probation. All of them. It was enough to make the Master of Fairy Tail scream in frustration, these people had tried to resurrect an ancient weapon to cast the world into chaos!

"M-mister Jellal..." The toddler was looking far better, meaning Bisca and Alzack had gotten her the medicine she needed, and Jellal smiled at the little girl. "Yes, sweetie?" She had a strange infatuation with the blue haired man, she was always blushing around him and getting nervous, Sorano thought it was too adorable while Alzack was annoyed by it. "Are you alright? You look sad." The Master's face fell, even _she_ could see he wasn't okay. "Just worried. You should ask Erik to play with you when he gets back." He was currently training Romeo, after all, and the girl nodded happily. Anything for Mister Jellal, even if it meant making flower crowns with the quiet slayer.

"Mister Erik!" He'd just walked in the door, Romeo in tow, when Asuka saw him; the girl ran to him, jumping so he'd catch her, and she poked his cheek. "Play with me!" She pleaded, her big eyes shining, and the man struggled to maintain a stoic face as he nodded. He made it appear like it was the biggest hassle but really he didn't mind the cheeky little kid, she was pretty smart and forgot that he could read her soul like a book.

 **FEBRUARY X789**

Wendy leaned back against the tree she was using as a brace, Lyon stood in front of her with a shield of ice active while Chelia healed Toby; they'd gotten caught off guard, distracted, and because of that they were trapped. The mages they'd been sent to capture had summoned four huge golems, Sherry was being mind controlled so she couldn't stop them, and Toby's paralyzing magic couldn't work if he couldn't pierce skin. "D-damn." Lyon fell to his knee, getting weaker, and Wendy began drawing in air. She _had_ to be strong. _'I'm a dragon's daughter, I'm a dragon slayer mage, I'm better than this!'_ Carla was flying up to capture Sherry back, to try and get her away from the mages so the spell would break, and Wendy felt her magic grow stronger. _"I'm with you, Wendy."_ A warm voice, the feeling of gentle hands, and the small girl knew just who had reached out to her. In Wendy's mind she saw chocolate eyes, blond hair, and a caring smile that had been able to save Lyon from his dark path. The girl felt the change, her hearing grew sharper as did her sense of smell, and her eyes opened to look up at the mages.

Dragon Force was a weapon she rarely used. "Sky Dragon's Cutting Wind!" The girl learned she could sharpen the wind she manipulated so it was like blades, slicing through just about anything in the tornado she summoned, and she used that now; the golems were made of stone but the winds howled and raged, the mages were being tossed around, and the golems crumbled as the mages fell unconscious. The slices in their skin were minor, Wendy hadn't been out to kill after all, but they'd hit their heads and fallen pretty far. _"I knew you could do it, Wendy."_ The dragon slayer smiled and glanced at her team, all of them watching her with mixed expressions of surprise, and she helped finish healing everyone before they had Toby paralyze the mages so they could carry them away. Wendy however was silent, too busy in thought, if Lucy had managed to reach out to her did that mean the Fairy Sphere was close to breaking? Had it broken already? There were too many questions, not enough answers, and the only way to know was to get to Fairy Tail.

 **MARCH X789**

Sabertooth, the guild building was rather impressive, but Sorano wasn't phased; she had happened to have a job in the area so Gray had joined her in scoping the place out, seeing as Sting and Rogue weren't members this time, just so they knew what they'd be looking at in the way of competition. Rufus, Orga, Yukino, and Minerva were the rather obvious ones; they'd seen all of them around the town so far but nobody else that they could recognize. It had taken Gray promising that they'd talk to Yukino as soon as they could to stop Sorano from confronting the girl, it wouldn't do to have Yukino leave now before she could find her confidence. The pair of Fairy Tail mages left to finish their job, lingering wouldn't be good right now, and green eyes watched them go with a mixture of curiosity and annoyance.

 **MAY X789**

Jet smiled as he simply ran, Sawyer from Quatro Cerberus and Jellal were his only real competition after all, and he was way ahead of them; the High Speed mage was excited, his magic had gotten a lot stronger and he was doing well with his training; Droy was back on track, finally losing weight, and everyone around the guild seemed happier. Most of it stemmed from the fact that Wendy and Carla had joined Fairy Tail, Erik's mood had lifted dramatically to the point that he was actually sitting and laughing with people. Macbeth had been found, turns out he and Meredy had slipped away to Akane Resort for a few weeks to get some alone time, and Ultear had been helping train Romeo since Erik and Wendy had decided to travel for a little while with Carla and Kasumi.

"Jet!" He paused as he heard Sawyer's panicked voice, stopping to turn around, and the mage breezed by him. "Got ya!" Jet gaped for all of a second before racing to catch up, angry that he'd been tricked, and Jellal breezed past the duo to cross the finish line of the race. "For the four hundred and thirty ninth time the winner is Jellal." Nab declared as he waved the flag to signal the end of the race, Jet had just managed to get past Sawyer for second place by a toe, and the two mages turned on one another and began shouting about sneaky tactics. "They're silly, mommy." Asuka whispered loudly as Bisca passed them, so the girl could congratulate the man for the four hundredth and thirty ninth time, and both Jet and Sawyer blinked before falling silent. Jellal thanked Asuka, who blushed as he patted her hair, and the group all headed back for the guild hall; when they got there the group froze, it was still rather early in the morning, but the building was demolished. "Wha-" All eyes widened in horror, the wood was scorched and burned but the flames that had taken the building had been contained since it hadn't spread anywhere else, and Asuka began to cry.

 **JUNE X789**

The culprit had been Minerva Orland, that much had been easy to determine once Meredy had arrived on scene to examine the magic, and Ultear repaired the hall with ease; but the fact was that they'd been attacked, someone had declared war, and Sorano was slinking around the hall like an angry feline. Jellal looked at the assembled mages and debated on how to word his statement. Macbeth, Ultear, Meredy, Sorano, Gray, Erik, Wendy, and himself were all extremely strong and could most likely defeat the Sabertooth guild with ease...but he refused to do something like that; the risk of jail time was too high, so close to the return of the rest of their family, and they could always make an even bigger come back at the Dai Matō Enbū. "We're not retaliating." He started, watching some grow angry while others simply scoffed, and he held up his hand to silence any responses. "It's far too close to when the rest of our nakama will come home, we can't risk jail time, and if we do this wrong the council can and will shut us down." That stopped everyone, since nobody was nearly as destructive this time the council had mostly left them alone...but that didn't mean they'd forgive wars between the guilds.

"Fine but that means when they're back we get to let loose." Jet declared, having learned how to use his high speed magic in more ways than just running, the man was strong enough that he could win a fight in minutes when driven. Jellal nodded, they all knew where they could really have at it, and they froze as Erik suddenly gripping his head and fell to his knees. "S-shit." The poison dragon fell to the floor and general panic began to happen around them,

 **JULY X789**

Erik glared at Mavis as the woman peered at him. _"I wasn't thinking about the soul link, I'm sorry."_ He couldn't fault her, she'd been trying to test and see if she could stop the Fairy Sphere, but in having his soul link suddenly activate and stop it had given him one hell of a shock to his system that had made him fall unconscious. Wendy had made sure there was nothing physically wrong but the pain of feeling Lucy and then having it go dark again had been like a knife twisting in his heart.

" _I've begun dispelling the Fairy Sphere. You'll obviously know when it's fully gone, but I'll tell you when to travel so you can find everyone as soon as the spell is broken for good."_ He nodded and Jellal looked at the First Master, she'd just begun allowing him to see her and now the female could often be found helping Jellal with handling some of the stress of being a guild master, the three fell silent as Sorano entered the room with Wendy. Neither woman could see Mavis and that was fine, really, but Wendy had proven to know _something_ about what was happening. "How are you feeling?" Erik shrugged. "Doesn't feel like I'm getting beaten in the head with a hammer." He answered before grunting as Sorano scowled. "You better hope Scarlet doesn't get that damn thing this time, if Lucy gets mad all she has to do is tell Erza to beat you with it." Erik shivered. "I'd be more scared of Lucy borrowing it." The blond could be utterly terrifying, even Erza sometimes cowered from Lucy.

 **OCTOBER X789**

He could feel her, the bond was way too faint but he could feel it, and Erik sat up in bed; Wendy and Carla were sleeping in the room on the first floor that Erik had made hers, Lucy's room along with Gajeel and Laxus' rooms were untouched. Erik focused his magic and followed the link, searching to see if he could talk to her, but all he could get were hazy images of her battles. He could make out the blurs of dark magic, the strange swirl of black fire, and the blurry face of Zeref himself. But then there was a mixture of fiery orange and bright yellow, Natsu had gotten his double element, and Erik wondered what element he would pair with if he doubled. Natsu was fire and lightning while Gajeel was iron and shadow, a small part of Erik wondered how it would work since there were only seven slayers. He let himself lay back down and simply basked in the feeling of Lucy's soul beginning to wake up from its sleep.

 **DECEMBER X789**

He could still feel her, Wendy was leaning against his chest, but as he read aloud to the gravestones Erik could feel Lucy's soul as if she were pressed up against him too. Mavis had said the spell was breaking unusually fast, that Acnologia's lingering magic was causing the protective magic to wane, and so he had a feeling that he'd be seeing her sooner than he had thought. _"E-erik?"_ Her voice sounded in his mind, she was waking up, and his heartbeat thundered as he paused in his reading. "You okay?" Wendy asked gently, the seventeen year old girl was looking at him in concern as Carla and Kasumi both waited for an answer. "It's Lucy. I hear her." He replied before the trio of girls broke into grins.

* * *

 **Since I shattered portions of the 7 continuum I decided to do that again. Har har. But seriously, Hiro loves 7.**

 **Dragons vanished in X777, there are 7 dragon slayers, tenrou team vanished for 7 years. I'm sure I'm missing some, lol.**


	140. Endless Forms Most Beautiful

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **ENDLESS FORMS MOST BEAUTIFUL**

* * *

 **JANUARY X790**

The sunshine was distraction but Erik didn't bother to worry as he dropped his arm over his eyes, he'd stayed up late talking with Lucy again and he was glad that the sphere was almost fully dispelled. Apparently everyone from Tenrou was awake now, training since they had a few months to do so, but they were just stuck in the spell under water. _"Morning, sleepyhead."_ Lucy's voice filled his mind and Erik mumbled something in reply as he rolled over, knowing Wendy and Carla were most likely awake by now, and Kasumi squeaked in surprise as she rolled off his chest and onto the floor. "Oi!" The feline snapped, clearly irritated, and Erik looked at her as she flew up and glared at him with crossed arms. "That was rude." She reminded him. "So is sleeping on my face." The exceed waved her hand dismissively. "Details. Minor details." He raised an eyebrow and she huffed before flying away. _"Any idea when you'll be home? I'd much rather cuddle with you."_ Erik heard Lucy's giggle and couldn't help but wish for the million and one time that she was home.

 **FEBRUARY X790**

Lucy stretched, time was finally starting to start again, so she knew it wouldn't be long before they were back above the surface; Mavis giggled at her, the blond had been meditating, and Horologium had been the one to tell her about time starting up again. "Hello Mavis." The astral body of the first only remembered the time alteration because of the fact that she too had the Ankserahm curse just like Zeref had, if she'd actually been a true ghost in the sense of being 'dead' then even she would have forgotten. "Hello Lucy. Laxus is coming to find you." Lucy smiled as Mavis skipped away, the First had taken to talking with Master Makarov, and as she vanished the muscled blond emerged from the trees. "Hey North Star." His easy smile made her heartbeat skip, it was almost disgusting how good looking he was after working out, and he dropped to sit beside her. "Hey Laxus, what's up?" His arm dropped over her shoulder and he kissed her cheek before nuzzling her. "Just missed you." Lucy giggled as he playfully sniffed in her hair, like a dog, and she squeaked as he pulled her closer. "But you were just training me an hour ago." Lucy whimpered as his lips hovered so close to hers.

His stormy eyes shimmered and he closed the distance between their mouths, a sigh leaving her lips as she turned her head to deepen the kiss, and Laxus' tongue slid against her lips slowly before sliding through her lips as she parted them for him. He tasted like citrus, breakfast had been mango and pineapple after all, and something rich and sharp that was just him. The kiss was almost lazy, definitely seductive in its own, and when he pulled back Lucy was feeling a little hot. "Just wanted to do that." He whispered against her mouth, his eyes shining with mischief, and Lucy shook her head as a playful smile formed on her face. "All you had to do is say you wanted a kiss." She answered with a smile. "If I did then we'd never stop kissing." He replied with a low rumble, his arms still holding her close to him, and Lucy leaned into his hard body.

"Back to work with you, Lucy, don't be a slacker." Erza commanded as she entered the clearing, making the blond nod, and the redhead glared at Laxus; the lightning dragon slayer thought about resisting but decided against it. Lucy looked at Erza as Laxus stalked through the trees. "Nice save, Erza, I was gonna have Freed make runes." Bickslow taunted as he emerged from the trees with Freed and Evergreen, the brunette woman sniffed. "Interrupting your training, tch, I'll have to turn him to stone later." Evergreen decided, her Princess' training time was precious now that they could begin building their magic up again; they were all six years behind after all. "Guys..." Lucy sighed, knowing they only had her best interests at heart, but the blond wanted another kiss. _"I'll kiss you all you want North Star."_ Erik commented. _'So not helping.'_ But Lucy couldn't wait to see him again.

 **APRIL X790**

The boat couldn't move fast enough, even with Wendy and Chelia using their magic to create a huge gust of wind and make them travel that much faster, and Erik felt his body begin to light up as the full feeling of his bond with Lucy began to return. They paused as the astral body of the first floated before them, standing on the water, and Erik swallowed his anticipation down as the blond raised her arms and called Tenroujima to the surface; the boat banked and the members of Fairy Tail that had been left to keep the guild afloat were chomping at the bit to get down there. Gray, Sorano, Macbeth, Ultear, Meredy, Erik, Bisca, Alzack, and Warren stood with Wendy and Chelia as well as Lyon. Once the ice mage had learned they were going to get Lucy home he'd insisted to come seeing as Chelia had been invited.

"Minna!" They looked up as Mirajane waved at them, running full tilt toward them, and the Satan Soul mage was soon followed by her hulking brother and slender sister. Erik heard a shout as Natsu came falling out of the trees, no doubt having pissed off Erza judging by the armored boot print on his face, and Makarov chuckled. "Hello everyone." The old man looked relaxed, happy, and he paused when he saw the mark on Wendy's arm. The bluentte was eighteen, gorgeous, and her long hair was tied back in a ponytail. "Ah, Wendy-chan you joined the guild?" They looked up as Lucy waved, her bright eyes dancing with merriment, and Erik was in motion. His arms locked around her waist, hers going to his neck, and he slid his lips to hers and kissed her. It was tongue, teeth, lips, and easily stole his breath just as it did hers. His toes curled, her leg lifted like one of those romance movies, and he just couldn't bring himself to leave her mouth.

"Oi!" Lyon shouted, waving his fist, and Gajeel shook his head. "There ain't no way you're getting' to talk with her right now. Just wait it out, ice boy." The iron dragon knew Lyon appreciated her kindness just like everyone else but interrupting a dragon or slayer when they were reunited after so long? Death wish. Lucy broke away for air and Erik continued to pepper her face and neck with light kisses, breathing in her scent, and she giggled as he licked a trail from her collarbone to her ear before she bit back a moan as he nibbled on the shell of her ear. "You're mine tonight." He demanded, able to smell that all the others had her, and Lucy nodded. "I wouldn't have it any other way." She whispered hotly against his ear. "Alright you can stop being gross now. Freed and Evergreen are ready to have a coronary." True to Bickslow's words the rune mage and fairy mage looked ready to kill Erik. The poison dragon slayer heard something about 'defiling her honor' or something but he couldn't give two damns at the moment.

"Let's go home." Lucy offered with a smile, earning cheers, and everyone boarded the boat with haste; the blond stood beside Lyon as they set off, the dragon slayers all looking distinctly green, and the ice mage looked at her with a soft smile. "Welcome back, Lucy." Her eyes twinkled. "Thanks, Lyon, I'm glad to be back. So have I missed anything big?" His dark eyes seemed to shimmer with knowing. "I've forgiven Gray...we still argue but..." He cast a look to Ultear as the arc of time mage talked with the dark haired ice mage. "You have family, I know. But that's all that matters, right?" He nodded and Lucy patted his arm before heading over to Sorano and Gray. "Sora." The crystal mage pulled Lucy into her arms. "I'm so glad you're back finally." The woman whispered and the blond returned the hug as tears formed in her eyes. "Me too." She whimpered out, knowing that the other slayers were uncomfortable since she was starting to cry, and Erik rubbed her back to comfort her. "How come you're not sick?" Lyon asked, even Wendy was having a hard time, and Erik smirked. "My magic is biological in nature, poisons, I'm immune to nausea because of it." If the other slayers could speak they would tell him to fuck off, Lucy imagined, and the blond couldn't help but laugh. "Ne, Luce." Her eyes shifted to Gray and she noticed his linked hands with Sorano.

Her lips curled into a mischievous smile. "Oh? When did this happen?" The ice mage grinned and in an instant his shirt was on the floor. "A few years ago." Gray was far more mature and far more handsome, his long hair was currently done so it was spiked back and up a bit while a few long strands fell across his forehead, Lucy was glad to see that he looked happy finally. "The Oracion Seis were a problem, after you all vanished, but it was different mages. They're now all a part of Raven Tail." Lucy nodded, waiting, and Gray sighed. "Flare, Mattan Ginger, Karen Lilica, Rustyrose, Erigor, and Brain." Lucy's brown eyes showed worry. "Flare? Really? I was hoping I'd be able to do something this time..." Gray ruffled her hair. "Just be kind to her again, Luce." The blond nodded. "So who took over for me this time? Macao?" The old Master asked suddenly and Sorano shook her head. "Nope. Our Fourth Master is the Fifth Wizard Saint, Jellal Fernandez." He'd joined the ranks and surpassed Jura with ease, he was insanely strong after all, and a crimson blushed formed on Erza's face. "O-oh." Lucy smiled. "Uh oh, someone getting hot thinking of calling Jellal with the term Master?" She teased, earning a hard smack as Erza turned even more red, and Lucy laughed even harder at the expression on the redhead's face. _"You'll be calling someone Master tonight too, North Star."_ The blond whipped her head to look at Erik and his smirk sent heat right through her body.

" _Only if you take care of your pet, Erik."_ His smirk got even more intense and everyone knew to leave them be once they left for home tonight, but for now the group celebrated that they were reunited again, and this time they had more time to train and get stronger together; Erik on the other hand was glad that he had his Matriarch back, the empty soul bond had been pulling him into a small pit of depression for a while. "So Kasumi said you've been spending Christmas with Mama and Papa...and that you've been cleaning up their stones." Erik blushed and nodded. "Y-yea, someone had to." Lucy leaned into him and kissed him again, the slow and passionate display making several of the romantics swoon. "Thank you, Erik." He nuzzled her neck and smiled against her skin. "Anything you for, North Star." The blond was the guiding star for her dragons, the way home, and that was why her nickname had changed; following her meant they'd be home no matter where they were. Erik continued to hold Lucy the whole ride home, resting his chin on her head as she talked with everyone to catch up, and he ignored the scathing looks he was getting from Gildarts while Cana snickered at the display. As they headed for the guild hall Lucy noticed Erza's body tense up, her face flushing, and the blond took the woman's hand. "Just relax." Erza nodded and as they opened the doors all eyes shifted to them, the redhead having released Lucy's hand, and a victorious smirk shone on Lucy's face as Jellal crossed the room and swept Erza into his arms before lowering is mouth to hers and kissing her. Mirajane was almost screaming in joy, her high pitched sound making the dragon slayers wince, and the satan soul mage blushed as Freed took her hand and advised her gently to mind the others.

"You're all home!" Romeo shouted, waving, and Lucy smiled at him; he looked just like Natsu now that his hair was spiked up in random directions, it was almost scary, and the fire dragon slayer gave the boy a high five in greeting. "Yo, Romeo, you're getting a lot bigger now." Natsu commented with a grin and the boy nodded. "Duh, I'm training real hard too, Erik and I have been going on a ton of missions together." Lucy gave the poison dragon slayer a sly smile, he'd always seemed like the type to be awful with kids but apparently she was wrong, and he scowled slightly. A light laugh came from Wendy, who was standing beside the white haired girl with cat ears, and Lucy beamed brightly. "Wendy, Carla, you two joined Fairy Tail?" Lucy asked excitedly, the pair nodding, and the blond folded the two into a hug. "I'm glad, I look forward to going on jobs with you and hanging out here." The two females smiled. "Indeed, Lucy, I look forward to it as well." Carla replied with a smile, Wendy simply hugged the blond tighter, and Erik could see that Wendy's instincts were beginning to draw her to Lucy once more. The party that happened that night was loud, a lot of property damage happened, and Erik snagged Lucy before she could get drunk to take her home. As he shut the door to her room she landed on the bed, bouncing slightly, and his indigo eyes seemed almost predatory; her body tingled in anticipation as he crossed the room and pushed her back into the bed, his lips curling into a smirk that she loved, and then his lips were on hers.

* * *

 **They have been reunited! I am currently debating how I want to handle any kind of smut, meaning if I should do it in a stand-alone one shot that is based in the universe or actually put it in the story, but I'll definitely make sure it's implied when it goes to happen. So go ahead and tell me what you think is best, obviously I'm not going to make a smut chapter only three hundred words though. I'm not that cruel. **


	141. Michelle

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **MICHELLE**

* * *

It had been three weeks since their return from Tenrou, Lucy had spent nearly every single day with Erik, and now she had to start working. Wendy and Carla were joining her on a job, seeing as Erik and Natsu were training with Romeo while Gajeel was working with Lisanna; Laxus was meeting with Laki for her report on Raven Tail, and the Sky Maiden had offered to come along. It was a simple job, bandit hunting, but something wasn't sitting right with the Celestial Mage as she walked beside the blunette beside her.

"Are you Lucy Heartfilia?" A voice called, the girl with shoulder length dark mahogany hair was waving as she ran to catch up to them, and in her arms was a far too familiar case. "Yes?" Lucy really didn't like where this was heading, not with the bright smile on the face of the girl, and her green eyes were shining with such _joy_ that it was painful. "My name is Michele Lobster, my father told me to find you, he said you could help me!" The girl seemed far too excited, her lovely green dress was ripped at the bottom hem from the traveling no doubt.

Lucy wanted to tell her no, wanted to tell the girl to stay away, but she couldn't deny aiding her knowing what could happen. "Let us finish our current job and then we can bring you to Fairy Tail." Lucy offered, earning a nod of joy, and Michelle hummed before looking around as men surrounded them. "Give us the case, girl." The bandit demanded with a smirk. "As if." Michelle replied, her pout reminding Lucy of a child, and the blond grabbed her keys and looked at the two females with her.

Wendy and Carla gleefully helped thrash the bandits.

* * *

 **Well she never did get Gonzales this time around did she?**


	142. Placebo

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **PLACEBO**

Knowing what the hand of the clock was certainly helped Lucy, though knowing the magic of Celestial Spirit Mages had sealed the clock presented the mystery as to why Michelle had the hand, was it possible Michelle was a Celestial Spirit Mage? Lucy eyed the girl, after a change of clothes and a shower Michelle seemed to shimmer, something wasn't quite right about this. "Bunny?" Her eyes raised to Gajeel and she blinked slowly. "Something is wrong." The blond answered softly, the hair on the back of her neck rising, and the door to the guild hall opened.

Rather than just Mary, Sugarboy, and Coco it was the entire group of the Legion Corps; Samuel, Byro, Coco, Mary Hughes, Sugarboy, and Dan Straight. The blond watched as Dan scanned the room and then stared right at Lucy. "It's...it's LOVE!" He declared, making Lucy shriek as he was suddenly in her face, and the blond reacted by kicking him clean in the chest and sending him sailing back into Coco. "Stay back you love obsessed weirdo!" Lucy shouted as she hid behind Bickslow.

The Seith Mage crossed his arms, Freed's rapier drawn as Evergreen toyed with her glasses, and Dan stood back up. "But-" Byro punched him, hard, and the knight fell to a knee. "Dan. Stop being foolish. Miss Michelle you must come home." The girl shook her head and glared as she hid behind Warren. "No! I'm not going back to that place, you kept me in an underground hospital because everyone said I was sick when you were the ones making me sick!" Lucy looked between them and frowned.

Byro glared at everyone in the room and Natsu growled as Gajeel and Laxus flanked him, Byro and his team were threatening Fairy Tail after all. Knowing that they'd tricked Michelle into believing she was ill...the dragons were ready to fight for her freedom.


	143. Light 'em Up

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **LIGHT 'EM UP**

* * *

The small silver exceed huffed as he flew into the air. "Excuse me but do you people even understand that Miss Michelle is-" Lucy moved to stand in front of Michelle, her brown eyes gleaming. "I know who she is, the Lobster family is renown for their care of the church's largest farm plots as well as the management of most charities across Fiore. Like I was many years ago Michelle was born to a family of nobles, which she obviously had no choice of, and she's making her stand for her freedom." Lucy declared, waiting, and there was a pause before Dan lunged for a hug.

The iron rod collided with his cheek as Gajeel snarled, his anger soaring to new heights, and Gray stepped forward. "Everyone stop." All eyes shifted to him, the authority in his tone was something Lucy wasn't used to, and Sorano's eyes sparkled; the white haired crystal mage was getting all moony over him, it was both cute and obnoxious.

"Ooh? You have something to add?" The man with the white suit asked, his eyes covered by sunglasses, and Lucy cringed as Gray tossed aside his shirt and moved into his molding stance. The blush rose to Sugarboy's face, as Lucy recalled Gray whining about the blond man, and Gray sent a blast of ice that held all of the Legion except Coco since she'd jumped to the ceiling.

"How dare you resist!" The girl aimed a kick at the man only to yelp as a hard piece of diamond slammed into her. "Don't you touch _my_ man you brat!" Sorano declared. "N-no! Ice Boy is mine!" Sugarboy replied, his body frozen, and Byro's magic flared. "Enough!" He roared in anger, his magic canceling the ice holding them in, and hell seemed to erupt in a single moment.

* * *

 **Sorry for the lack of updates, I moved so it's been crazy with moving things and unpacking**


	144. Pursuit

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **PURSUIT**

Byro's magic was nullification, Lucy hadn't forgotten that, but the sudden rush of nausea caused her head to raise as Byro's more powerful magic seemed to leak from him; his staff was drawing in their powers, draining them, and she felt dizzy as a stream of golden light seemed to flare around her. "Wha-" The clock hand flared to life, standing upright, the combined draw on her magic made the blond sprawl forward. "Lucy!" Michelle called out, reaching to catch her, but a pair of strong arms captured the girl in their hold as Samuel pulled her back toward the others.

The blond was caught but not by anyone of her nakama, Dan held her close as he smirked at the others, Sugarboy's magic restraining the others from pursuing. Until of course the ooze seemed to dissolve, a potent odor filling the air, and the sound of snarling caused the Legion members to turn slowly. The five dragon slayers were growling, Erik's poison having eliminated the green goo, and Gajeel's red eyes seemed to darken before he lunged.

The five humans were fast, Wendy even more so as she used a burst of magic to rocket toward them, and Coco took Michelle and the clock hand while Samuel took Lucy so the others could fight off the slayers. "Carla!" The white exceed caught Wendy in her hold and shot into the air after Samuel, though Carla was in her humanoid body, and the sky dragon knew she'd have to be careful since Lucy was in danger.

Knowing the blond was in good hands allowed Erik to focus on keeping Sugarboy distracted as Jet raced after Coco, Gajeel and Natsu were fighting Byro while Laxus and Mirajane were going after Mary Hughes. The rest of Fairy Tail was splitting themselves up to help their friends and to help Wendy and Jet.


	145. For Our Own

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **F** **OR OUR OWN**

* * *

"Leave Byro to me." The cold tone halted the battling mages, dark eyes seemed to grow cold as Gildarts Clive tossed his cloak aside, the auburn haired crash mage was beyond pissed off and he wanted to make sure Byro learned what happened when his family was threatened…when his little girl was kidnapped. "Aye sir!" Natsu shouted as Happy grabbed him to take off after Samuel, Pantherlily snatched up Gajeel and followed. The two men stared one another down and the ground crumbled under his feet as Gildarts kicked off, fist drawn back, the father was seeing red.

Jet felt the rush of air beside him and barely caught a glimpse of Jellal, the blue haired guild master had most likely left Makarov or Macao in charge, so the high speed mage forced himself to go faster; he wouldn't let his teammate show him up, not when Jet's specialty was speed. They easily found the girl, Coco, who was holding Michelle; the noble girl was unconscious, it was easy to see Coco was beginning to struggle, but the Legion girl was determined not to fail. As Jet and Jellal drew closer she screamed out to someone, the green bodied mage stepping out from the trees.

The pair of men delivered a powerful kick each to him, only strengthened by their speed, and Guttman cackled as his magic flared. "You fell for it, fairies." Jellal screamed as his magic began to swell and Jet felt the pain, as if his skin was too small for his body, before the high speed mage was also screaming on the ground. The pair felt the explosion, the sheer force, before many more went off around them. "Oh no you don't! Solid Script, Absorb!" The words were made of an aqua colored gel, coating Jet and Jellal, the pain faded as their magic was stabilized by the spell.

"Card Magic, Spellswords!"


	146. Villains Emerge

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **VILLAINS EMERGE**

* * *

Happy and Lily were moving at max speed, chasing after the blue furred exceed who held Lucy and the clock hand, their slayers could see Wendy and Carla had caught up to him and that the sky slayer was trying to reclaim Lucy without hurting her; admirable, really, but in this case even Gajeel knew that their matriarch was likely to get caught in the cross fire. "Tetsuryukon!" Gajeel had gotten in range first, plus his limbs extended, and the club ended up clipping the wing of the pale exceed; Samuel slowed enough that Carla was able to shoot forward, letting go of Wendy, and the transformed exceed snatched Lucy from the other man.

The sky dragon smirked as she began floating on the air currents, making them strong enough to support her weight, and her eyes seemed to glow as the breeze caused her hair to flow. "Tenryuu no Houko!" The blast of air seemed to have a sharp edge to it, small arc of wind had been made so dense and fine that they were like blades, the sky dragon was not someone to screw around with it seemed."Karyu no Houko!" The blast of flames engulfed the stunned exceed, who let out a roar of pain, and Gajeel felt Lily waver before realizing they were being attacked from behind; the dark exceed turned around and Gajeel blinked at the thing before him, it looked like a man with purple skin and spikes on his large forearms.

"Stupid Fairies." The man sneered, his wicked expression made Gajeel snarl, but it was just how he was staying aloft that made them look in slight surprise. The purple man had a small creature with leaf-like wings on it's back holding him up.


	147. Grenade

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **GRENADE**

* * *

Lily felt his strength fading and realized the small creature was draining his magic. "Gajeel that small thing is what drained our magic." The iron dragon growled, knowing that Lily was getting weaker by the second, and he too felt a strain on his own body as they dodged another attempted punch. "I've got you." Wendy commented, smiling, and she held her hands out before Gajeel and Lily both felt their magic rising again. "Nice, Wendy!" The dark furred Exceed commented as Gajeel amped up his power and let out a roar at point blank range.

The purple man shouted as the small creature began falling, no longer able to support itself, and Carla smirked as they lowered themselves to the ground as Lucy began to wake up; but in her chocolate eyes was a pale gold mark, a spiral with outward spikes, and with the way the arm of the clock was glowing in her arms it didn't spell anything good. "Lucy!" Gajeel shook her shoulders, watching her eyes open fully, and the marks faded from her left eye as she blinked at him. "Gajeel?" She asked softly, looking around, and the group let out a sigh of relief.

"Give me the clock hand, Lucy, you shouldn't touch it." Wendy took it, watching the mark fade from the blonde's eyes, and the dragon slayers exchanged nods before wings of wind appeared on Wendy's back while Carla took Lucy. "Come on, we have to go make sure the others are okay." They took off and none noticed the dark eyes watching them from the tree line.

The explosions were rocketing off around them, Cana and Levy struggling to keep Guttman occupied as they took turns nullifying or absorbing his magic, and Jet had already gotten Jellal to follow him after Coco. "Card Magic, Explosion!" "Solid Script, Storm!" The pair felt their magic merge together. "Rairyū no Hōken!" The blast of thunder from behind them pushed their attack further, merging with it, and the resounding explosion was blinding. "Laxus!"

* * *

 **When I first saw the Triple Unison Explosion in the anime I decided that I wanted to make a triple unison between Cana, Levy, and Sorano at first...but then I thought 'Why not Laxus' since he's awesome~**


	148. Beautiful Liar

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **BEAUTIFUL LIAR  
**

* * *

The girl had stopped to catch her breath, panting as she set Michelle's limp body down, and she almost screamed out in surprise as a man slid out of the trees. "Ah, how terrible that the devil meets the puppy here." He was flamboyant in a scary way, his silver hair done up in a tall fashion almost like Sugarboy's own blond hair, and Coco scowled at him. "I'm not a puppy!" She shouted, stamping her foot, and the man snapped his fingers as a dog bone appeared in hand. "A treat for bringing the girl to us." Coco's eyes darkened. "Bringing Miss Michelle to you? She's our precious Hime-sama, we're here to bring her home to her father." The silver haired man smiled.

"Oh no, my dear, her father never called you to bring her back; in fact he doesn't even know she's missing. You Legion Corps are so easy to fool." Coco nearly screamed as the tower began to rise under her feet, instead she grabbed Michelle and turned to run back toward the Fairy Tail mages. A pair of arms wrapped around her, the beast squeezing her tightly. "N-no." Coco forced her magic to her arms, to increase her strength, and tried to at least free the girl she held.

"This is your end, Puppy."


	149. Fade Away

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **FADE AWAY**

* * *

The ground was nearly destroyed around him, Gildarts knew that most of the people in Magnolia were counting on him to win this fight, but more than that the man was worried about his daughters. This group had come after an innocent they'd captured, targeted his blond angel, and even had the gal to kidnap her and claim it was for the sake of the Zentopia Church. A heavy punch to the gut made the crash mage slide back a few feet but his retaliating attack sent Byro sailing into a few trees, Gildarts would not lose here; Cana had helped save him from Bluenote Stinger on Tenroujima...this time Gildarts would prevail.

With that thought firming his resolve, with his anger at the attack on his children and nakama, and with the most power he'd ever used without raising his magic Gildarts kicked off from the ground and attacked. Bones nearly shattered under his attack, he could feel them at least fracture, and Byro screamed as he landed hard on the ground.

"A little violent, aren't we?" The man looked up at the woman, her green hair soft as she held what looked like buttons in her cupped hand, the former Blue Pegasus mage and Celestial Spirit Mage of Oracion Seis was smirking darkly. Byro was defeated, it seemed, but now trouble was beginning to rise again. Gildarts was ready though, this woman wasn't able to neutralize magic, his crash magic would wreck her.

"I wouldn't throw your magic carelessly, old man, these buttons are special. I have people sealed inside, after all, and these are so very fragile." The woman taunted, tossing them up slightly, there were ten in hand and her pouch signified that she could be holding more.


	150. I Will Not Bow

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **I WILL NOT BOW**

* * *

"Oh this won't do, I can't let you kill each other before I get to play." Sugarboy turned his head to look at the robed man, the scythe in his hand gleaming sharply, and Erik snarled in reply; the dog whsitle magic was useless against Erik since he just dissolved anything Sugarboy attacked him with, though he was interested in that the ooze had poisonous qualities already. "Oh? The dragon boy is getting serious finally!" Erigor shrieked out in glee as he charged to attack, the wind coming from him sending Sugarboy flying, and the poison dragon raised a scaled arm and sliced through the attack.

"Erik!" He dropped onto his stomach as a blast of power from Gray shot over him, catching Erigor and holding him strong, then as he rolled to the side he felt Sorano's magic flare before the pulse of light from her white moonstone engulfed the man. "You don't fuck with Fairy Tail's S-Class mages and expect to win." Gray snarled, having just recently become an S-Class mage himself, and Erik resisted the urge to smirk.

"We have the target, dechi." They looked up as the girl giggled. "Mattan Ginger and Rustyrose-senpai were the ones to come out on top, dechi!" The girl struck a pose from the tree branch she stood on. "So that's how it is. Do we have the clock hand?" The girl smirked. "Obra-san is getting that now, dechi." Mattan Ginger answered before a piercing scream echoed in the air, one Erik was all too familiar with. A trio of roars, dragon's roars, made Ginger look at the area the common was coming from in surprise.

"Someone managed to stop Obra-san, dechi?" She asked with a distracted expression before a huge hurricane of fire appeared in that area. The sound of rushing wind made her turn as she dodged the strike from Erik but he was smirking, his poison flaring out in a gaseus form that she was inhaling.


	151. Meadows of Heaven

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **MEADOWS OF HEAVEN**

* * *

Chocolate eyes blinked before she looked around, trying to figure out where she was, and Lucy could see rolling green grass and a rich blue sky. "So you're here too." Her eyes raised and she stared at the figure, it was Michelle. "Where are we?" The noble girl sat down across from Lucy. "We're sealed in one of the alternate plains that the one member of the Oracion Seis has created, I've been trapped for months and someone that isn't me is controlling my body." Lucy stared at the girl.

"The others are in trouble! We have to do something!" As she stood up and looked around the blond saw all of the people here, mages who looked as if possessed, and Michelle sighed. "The longer we're here...we'll lose our own thoughts and eventually we'll become walking puppets; if we're here too long our bodies will become converted to wood. Karen calls this the Meadow of her Heaven." Michelle explained with a soft sigh.

"Karen?" Michelle nodded. "Yes, there's a rift that I found, a break in the magic exists but if you try to go into it then you may die." Lucy frowned before looking around again, following Michelle to the white river that was a broken spot in Karen's sealing magic. "How'd she catch me?" Michelle blinked. "Obra absorbed everyone's magic, Karen had a seal made for you already and all he had to do was activate it, Wendy recovered them all but she wasn't able to stop him from sealing you."

"Lucy!" Carla ran over, taking the blonde's hand, and the female was glad she wasn't here alone. "We have to get out of here...but how?"

"I believe I can be of some help, Hime."

"Virgo!"


	152. Never Go Back

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **NEVER GO BACK**

* * *

Gildarts dodged the attack from the woman's puppet, the mage she'd absorbed was one he'd only ever heard stories of. Drum Bee. "Miss Karen, I have your latest." The blue skinned creature dropped a button into her hands and the woman grinned as she turned it toward him, on it's top was a small picture but all he needed to see was the shining gold hair and rich brown eyes. "You bitch!" Gildarts roared as his magic flared again, rising to dangerous levels, and there was a bright light before they watched the button go dark. "W-what!? How did she break my seal?" Karen shouted, looking at Obra, and there was a rich laugh before they watched as Capricorn stepped out of the trees beside Loke; Lucy was cradled against the goat while Loke held Carla in her furred form.

"You're unlucky that Virgo was one of the people you captured, I was able to have her and Loke bring us through the Celestial Spirit World." The blond explained with a smirk, wearing the blue and gold dress that had the key pattern at the collar while Carla had on a pink hat and yellow dress. "Humans can't enter the Celestial Spirit World!" Karen countered, watching Lucy smile, and her answer made the green haired woman angry. "The Celestial Spirit King is my friend, Karen, he allows me to break some rules if it means protecting me." The woman snarled and Lucy dismissed her spirits. "I am happy though, thanks to you I have one of my best friends back. Star Dress, Virgo form!" The maid appeared beside her as Lucy called on her power.

"You're going down, Karen. I heard how you treated Taurus, Vulpecula, and all the others." Lucy declared as she grabbed fleueve d'etoiles. The shining river of stars came to life in her hands and Virgo seemed to vanish.


	153. Gives you Hell

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **GIVES YOU HELL**

* * *

Gildarts watched as Lucy caught Karen in the trap she'd made with Virgo, the maid spirit holding the woman in anti-magic chains, and the blond took the bag of buttons and shattered them; as she did flashes of light appeared around them, all of Karen's victims were released. "Lucy?" She turned to her father and smiled as he opened his arms, the girl running into his arms, and Virgo smiled softly before watching as the people rubbed their heads and tried to figure out where they were and what had happened.

Those whom had been puppets were unable to be saved, to her knowledge, but the council would be able to look into it when they arrived; the maid turned to look at Lucy and bowed deeply, it had been hard knowing that she'd had to wait so long but the blond had her key once again. 'I will not fail Hime-sama, I will make sure she doesn't suffer.' The maid declared silently, seeing Lucy's bright smile once again was like finding treasure, and as the maid finished binding Karen she moved to the blond and looked around.

"Where are Natsu-sama, Gajeel-sama, Wendy-sama, and the others?" Lucy looked around, knowing she had cause to worry, and Carla quickly flew into the air to search. "Come on, Papa, we have to go back." Gildarts nodded, picking up Karen's limp form, and they ran back toward where they could hear the sound of fighting.

"Michelle must have returned to her body by now." The blond explained that Karen had trapped Michelle's soul, not her body like the others, in order to prevent the puppeteer magic she had learned from Ivan; that Zoldeo had been the one controlling Michelle's body.

"If you wish for your precious dragon mages to live, Lucy, you'll come quietly." The blond froze mid step and turned to look at the purple skinned man. "Nullpudding of Raven Tail." She watched him nod.

"Correct." He motioned to where the three dragon slayers and their exceeds were being bound by anti-magic rope.


	154. When Can I See You Again

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **WHEN CAN I SEE YOU AGAIN**

* * *

Gildarts was angry, not only did he have to release Karen but Lucy had gone with Nullpudding, he had fired a signal flare to alert danger and had been waiting for one of the slayers to awaken. The Legion Corps and Fairy Tail surrounded him quickly, Erik looking around, and Gildarts' eyes darkened. "They used the others to make her come quietly, we have to hurry." Jet and Jellal were exhausted, chasing Coco had worn them out more than they would admit, but the two knew they had the best chance of catching up to Lucy.

Monmo and Kasumi nodded to each other and scooped up the pair of slayers they were partners to and shot off across the sky, Laxus and Erik both reigning in their magic as they used their noses to track down the Seis. That they were attacking Fairy Tail again, looking to use an ancient weapon to cast the world into a nightmare, meant that they could possibly shut Raven Tail down. Or Ivan could claim they went rogue and get away, which they imagined he would do, and Laxus frowned since even Laki had been in the dark about this.

"There!" Kasumi shouted, coming to the rocky terrain, and they could see that the Seis already had the other pieces of the clock. Standing beside Nullpudding, Karen, Obra, Erigor, Rustyrose, and Mattan Ginger was Michelle. Or Zoldeo, as Gildarts had informed them, and Lucy was laying in Rustyrose's arms. "You can't leave me behind." Gildarts commented, Samuel holding him up, and Laxus nodded. They had to save Lucy, they wouldn't let her merge with the clock this time, it was time to put the Seis back in prison.


	155. Last Ride Of The Day

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **LAST RIDE OF THE DAY**

* * *

He was furious, more than that really, and as he dropped down in his lightning form Laxus made sure to coat Lucy in harmless static that repelled his stronger blast of magic. Erik himself was keeping a tight reign on his more deadly poisons, Wendy was still unconscious and he wasn't going to put Lucy in more senseless danger, Gildarts went right for Rustyrose. Kasumi transformed into her human shape, her preferred battle form, and delivered a powerful kick to Karen's chest as the mage readied a sealing spell; Samuel also transformed into his battle form and slashed at Nullpudding, to distract him from trying to gang on Gildarts. Monmo was fast, smirking, and snatched Lucy out of harm's way in an instant; the moment she was out of harm's way the poison dragon snarled and let his magic leak out. "Don't inhale that, dechi!" Mattan Ginger was already wekened, unable to do much more than walk, but it was too late.

"Shit!" Erigor cursed and covered his mouth as his wind magic flared to life, he was ready to end the poison bastard for good; there was a pulse of golden energy before Loke appeared, his hands blazing. "I opened my own gate." He explained as Laxus looked at him before the Leo smirked. "Regulus has reached it's zenith." He commented in a near feral tone as his fangs seemed to grow, his body coated with light, and the resulting flash was blinding.

"Look at the clock!" It was glowing gold, matching the golden markings appearing on Lucy's arms and legs, where Monmo stood watch over her. "Monmo get her away from here!" At Laxus' command the Exceed grabbed her to leave only to hit a wall of golden runes that prevented her from passing though, golden chains came from the clock before a rumbling in the earth rose and the Castle began to emerge. The chains latched to Lucy's back, seeming to merge with her skin, and Laxus realized in that moment it was golden magic that was connected to hers.

They had to end this now.


	156. Anthem of Angels

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **ANTHEM OF ANGELS**

* * *

Since they had warning from before it wasn't a challenge for Gildarts, Laxus, and Erik to center their attacks on the golden chains coming from the ground; the only challenge was the Seis, who were still in the way, and Erik snarled before watching Samuel grab Gildarts and Monmo grabbed Laxus before shooting away. He released a high dose of poison, Kasumi having flown out of the range he intended, and watched the Seis drop. "Tch." The poison dragon was grabbed by the shirt as Kasumi guided him to a chain, his magic quickly tearing through the material.

A pained scream echoed in the air, one they knew, and the mages looked at each other in horror; Lucy had merged with the damn thing already, breaking the chains would kill her, and fear rose through them. "I can...I can break the castle again. Scatter the parts." The muted voice intoned, dull and near lifeless, but they heard a shout as Freed appeared with Bickslow and Evergreen.

"Since you're connected to the Earth still you cannot, it would kill you, we must break the chains." The green haired mage commented as Bickslow's eyes glowed green, focusing on Michelle, he could see the second soul sitting in her body and wondered what the hell was going on with her. But as he watched he realized the other soul was the real Michelle, the imposter was playing stupid, and the Seith Mage grew angry.

He tapped into his magic and ripped the imposter away, watching the soul in his grasp twist and writhe, and Michelle gave him a brilliant smile.


	157. The Call

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **THE CALL**

* * *

Michelle waved the Seith mage down and whispered her plan in his ear, his eyes studying her carefully, and he sighed. "She'll be angry." Michelle smiled with tears forming in her eyes. "I know, but she'll be alive." The mage nodded and picked the girl up, flying her into the clock where Lucy was being held; immediately golden chains connected to the girl's body. "Michelle, what are you doing?" Lucy's dull voice returned, though a spark of life returned to it, and the binds holding Lucy severed; Bickslow grabbed Lucy and pulled her away before she could argue and Michelle's voice was the same lifeless sound that hers had been.

"I've never been allowed to choose anything, my whole life, and I want to do this Lucy. Even knowing what Zoldeo was holding, knowing the risk, you wanted to help who you thought was me. Destroy the chains and I will either die or I will live and break the castle."

Tears pricked Lucy's eyes, knowing why Michelle wanted to have her own choice, she'd spoken with her in Karen's strange world, and she knew Michelle had suffered being ignored by her father; that the girl had spent years doing anything she could to make him happy, and Lucy understood the girl's desire to make her own choice here. Being forbidden to leave her home but ignored by the one she wanted to pay attention to her the most? It was painful, lonely, and now she could do _something_ that could help.

"You'll make it, because you can be a Fairy Tail mage with how reckless you are. It'd be nice to have another Celestial Spirit Mage around the guild." Lucy clung to Bickslow as the others began destroying the chains, Michelle making grunts of pain as she held in her screams, and as they got to the last one Lucy began to shake. "She'll be okay, Princess." Bickslow whispered, his own body shaking, and she nodded. She had to believe.

The final chain shattered and Lucy watched, trembling, before they heard a sigh. "I'm still here, I feel more like me...time to break this castle down." It began to glow, brightly, and the parts scattered; Freed shot away, chasing something, and Lucy had a feeling he'd seen Michelle.


	158. One Way Or Another

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **ONE WAY OR ANOTHER  
**

* * *

Freed cradled the girl close to him, Michelle was unconscious but he could tell her heart was strong and she was breathing easy; the Rune Mage smiled slightly as he flew back toward the others, seeing that Erik had a firm hold on Lucy as the girl fretted. "Princess, she is alright." He reassured the blond, watching her brown eyes sparkle, and his chest swelled with pride knowing he had been able to draw that life to her. After watching her defy Laxus, one of Fairy Tail's strongest mages, all to save Bickslow...Freed wanted to make sure that her kindness didn't go unrewarded. It was why himself, Bickslow, and Evergreen were so ferverent about her protection; Lucy was far from naieve but her heart was huge and she was easily able to get hurt because of it.

"Hn...Lu..cy?" Michelle's eyes blinked open, her face somewhat tense, and the blond smiled back at the woman. "Hey Michelle, you ready to go home to Fairy Tail?" The girl nodded, thanking Freed softly, and as they began the walk back Samuel let out a soft sigh. "Miss Michelle...I shall personally tell your father you are joining a mage guild and that you are happy." He sounded rather gentle spoken, a little sad, and Michelle giggled. "I want you to stay too, Sammy." The bespectacled Exceed blinked and dropped his head. "I do not think they would allow someone willing to kid-" Lucy immediately giggled.

"Of course we would, Sammy. You're more than welcome to join our family." Lucy reassured him, earning a hesitant smile, and Laxus shared a look with Erik while Freed traded a stern look with Evergreen as Bickslow tensed.


	159. Turn The Key

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **TURN THE KEY  
**

* * *

Green eyes twinkled with excitement, a soft glow of gold forming on her hand as Lucy watched, and Michelle raised her hand in the air. "Open, Gate of the Little Dog; Nikora!" Her voice was strong, firm, and the air was charged with magic before the pink version of Plue with a silver nose appeared; Michelle squealed in glee as she crouched down. "Hello there Nikora, I'm Michelle Lobster; would you like to make a contract with me?" The little spirit nodded. "Fu-fuuunnn." It replied, slightly higher in tone, and Lucy smiled as she watched the pair work out their contract. "Congrats, Michelle." Natsu cheered, the girl having summoned her first spirit, and the mahogany haired girl cradled her new friend close with a cheery smile. "I'm excited, I've never had a lot of friends before." It was utterly adorable that Michelle was so happy, so friendly to her spirits, and Sammy smiled from his seat beside Pantherlily.

The guild had welcomed the pair, the rest of the Legion Corps had returned to the church to inform Michelle's father of her choice, the man had plenty of choice words for Makarov but once he'd seen Michelle's smile and her sparkling green eyes he had apologized and left her to the old man's care. "Remember, Michelle, we're meditating every day with Capricorn to work on your magic stamina. The more magic you have the stronger your spirits are." Lucy reminded her, making the girl nod, and Michelle tucked a strand of mahogany hair behind her ear. "Right, I've got to go unpack my things though." Lucy nodded, the girl was staying in Fairy Hills, and Juvia waved as she walked with Michelle while Sammy flew beside the girl; since he was an Exceed the landlady had allowed him access as long as he didn't wander, he had one chance and if he messed up he was gone.

"Princess...I'm glad you two have each other." Lucy nodded at Bickslow, the Seith Mage had informed her that after some digging there was indeed a faint link in lineage between the Lobster family and the Heartfilia family.


	160. Reunion

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **REUNION**

* * *

Chocolate eyes widened, meeting stunned crimson, and Lucy struggled to hold in the urge to wrap her arms around his waist as she felt Rogue's hands tighten slightly as they held her waist. He'd bumped into her, or rather they had bumped into one another, and to steady her his hands found hold on her waist while hers gripped his arms. The blush that rose to his face was charming as he made sure she was stable before releasing her. "I apologize, Miss, I wasn't paying attention." Lucy grinned. "Neither was I, so please allow me to take some of the fault." He nodded slightly as she noticed the blond head of hair a few feet back, pink ears and red fur on either shoulder. "I am Rogue Cheney, of Quatro Cerberus." He greeted, earning a softening of her eyes. "Lucy Heartfilia, Fairy Tail mage." She winked and his eyes widened.

"You're Lucy? But you were gone for six years according to Erik." The blond nodded and smiled as a familiar pair of royal blue eyes peered at hers. "No way, you're too cute to be Erik's gal; his face would scare someone like you off." The blond raised a brow before Wendy sighed. "This is Lucy, you two, and don't talk about Erik like that or he'll thrash you in the next Grand Magic Games again." The sky dragon reminded them. "R-right." Sting looked around, as if expecting an attack, and he wasn't disappointed as a low chuckle sounded before the blond man yelped and nearly jumped sky high. "Thanks Laxus." Erik fistbumped the muscled blond man, who had delivered a shock to the white dragon, and Lucy shook her head.

"Oi, wait up." Gajeel and Natsu appeared from another section of the crowd and Lucy realized that all of the slayers were together at last...at least all of them were in the same area. Her heartbeat stuttered, seeing the cheerful smiles as Sting ranted at Erik while Rogue watched, it was what she'd wanted for so long.


	161. Fighter

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **FIGHTER**

* * *

The flurry of punches was fast, accurate, and there was a swell of pride in his chest as Capricorn watched Lucy face off against Leo; the dragon slayers had decided to train together for the Grand Magic Games, they had nearly eight months this time, and Lucy had refused to be left behind. The blond had told them she would train with Michelle and the pair had spent many weeks perfecting their routine, the mahogany haired girl had come far in the time she'd had with Lucy but the blond was flourishing under his and Leo's tutealage.

"Very good, Hime, it is time for a break. Afterwards will be meditation." The two girls nodded and ate in silence, Michelle still adapting to the fast paced fighting while Lucy was learning more; she refused to be caught off guard, between her Stardress and now her growing abilities in hand-to-hand combat the blond was a force to be reckoned with even if she was unarmed. He knew why she was going this far, Laki had reported that Flare was once again on the Raven Tail team for the games; Lucy wanted to make sure that this time she not only won but helped stop Ivan from hurting the redhead, the blond wanted her friend back.

Loke and Capricorn exchanged looks, the girl's strong emotions would often flow through her keys and allow them to tell if she needed help; in this instant they felt the flash of desperation and determination, Lucy would not fail this time around.

"Fu-fuuuu-fuuuuuun." The little pink Nikora ( _Francois_ as Lucy reminded herself for the nth time) waved its hand and shook its little head. "Francois says not to be all serious all the time, part of our training is to center ourselves and relax." Michelle reminded her, earning a nod from the blond, and Lucy knew that they were right; she needed to be ready but she couldn't stress about it.


	162. Can't Hold Us Down

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **CAN'T HOLD US DOWN**

* * *

It had been a particularly difficult choice, the two teams for the Grand Magic Games, but Makarov was pleased with his choice and Mavis agreed whole heartedly. Team A would consist of Erza, Natsu, Gray, Wendy, and Lucy with Erik as their subsitute; his reasoning was that the four of them already worked well enough on a team and Wendy was the easiest to adapt to any new teammate or partner. Erik was a security measure, if someone came along and was able to damage one of the team...the poison dragon would easily clean up house. Team B consisted of Laxus, Gajeel, Cana, Macbeth, and Bickslow with Jellal as the substitute seeing as the heavenly body mage had passed leadership back to Makarov the minute he was given the choice.

After recovering from being targeted by the Seis, which had pissed many of the mages trapped on Tenrou off greatly, the reflector mage had decided he was ready to go back on the field; his paranoia had faded away, with the help of his pink haired teammate, and and now he planned to fight. He had been training near constantly, Ultear and Meredy pushing him beyond his limits. All of them had been, the old man knew, they were fighting for the pride they held as Fairy Tail mages.

"I couldn't be more proud of them, Third...Fifth, all of the children are growing so fast and into an amazing group of mages." Mavis whispered fondly, eyes sliding half closed as she thought of her own adventures and struggles; Makarov felt the combination of wistful joy and heartwrenching pain, knowing that she'd been through much, and turned back to his drink to give her some solitude. Fairy Tail would win this time too and when the war came...they would be ready.


	163. See You Again

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **SEE YOU AGAIN**

* * *

Crocus was just as large and wonderful as Lucy remembered, Michelle at her side, and the two females made their way toward Bar Sun while Plue and Francois sat in their arms and Sammy was perched on Michelle's shoulder. Chocolate eyes scanned the crowd and stopped, focusing on the female across the way, and Michelle blinked as Lucy froze; standing no more than ten feet from them was Yukino and Sabertooth. The white haired female had a bored expression on her face, beside her Orga was smirking at some mages from Sky Fang (a wind magic based guild) while the smaller mages trembled.

"Lucy...?" Michelle nudged the blond and earned an apologetic expression before the woman's eyes firmed, Lucy had forgotten this wasn't yet her Yukino...this girl before her was still Sabertooth's Yukino; the woman would be humbled upon her loss, humiliated yes, and Lucy would make sure that she got back up again. The blond waved to Sting, Rogue, Lector, and Frosch as they passed and then to Chelia and Lyon as they too walked by. "Lucy-chan you're competing?" Lyon asked hopefully, his eyes dancing, and she nodded. "Of course, I'm not getting left behind, just make sure you don't underestimate me." He blinked and shook his head.

"Never." He replied with a grin, earning one of her own, and as the two entered Bar Sun she noticed Bacchus sitting beside Cana already. "Cana you've only had two barrels? Are you ill, usually you're done five by now." Lucy teased, sliding into the stool beside the brunette, and the female offered a cheeky smile while Bacchus let his eyes drift down Lucy's figure. "Watch those eyes, drunk." Gajeel threatened, his voice coming off much darker than usual.


	164. Labyrinth

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **LABYRINTH**

* * *

The preliminary challenge was done, the eight teams had been picked, and Lucy was glad that this time around they weren't dead last. Raven Tail, Fairy Tail B, Sabertooth, Lamia Scale, Fairy Tail A, Blue Pegasus, Quatro Cerberus, and Mermaid Heel; just like last time but the order was switched around. The first challenge was true to its nature from before, the Hidden game, but Natsu had taken the stage for this one. With his nose it would be easy to find the real mages, plus with Fairy Tail B choosing Gajeel there was promise for a good fight. Rogue had gone for Quatro Cerberus, Beth for Mermaid Heel, Lyon for Lamia Scale, Eve for Blue Pegasus, Rufus for Sabertooth, but the Raven Tail competitor was not Nullpudding. This time it was Laki, obviously doing her job as a spy by playing as loyal as possible, but the wood make mage was surprisingly agile.

Lucy had known Laki was a little odd, the girl had a peculiar manner of speech that was almost adorable, but the blond had never seen her really fight before; really she was better than good. But it was easy to see that she was against her orders by Ivan, she was targeting Eve and Beth the most since they were the weakest links; Gajeel and Natsu were beating the ever-living hell out of Lyon and each other, and Rogue was smart enough to stick to the shadows. Rufus on the other hand presented a big problem, his memory make magic was beyond destructive and he easily kept his lead on any of the competition. But Natsu and Gajeel had kept fifth and sixth place at least.

"Those morons got all their points from each other."


	165. Toxic

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **TOXIC**

* * *

"Lucy Heartfilia versus Kinana!"

Chocolate met cold green, Lucy could hardly believe what she'd just heard, and the cloaked female from Raven Tail entered the arena. As the cloak fell on the ground Lucy blinked in alarm, Kinana was pretty and slender but there were dark tattoos winding down her arms and legs that were almost like snakes on her skin; the marks began to dance and Lucy grabbed her whip while her keyring began to glow. When she found out about Karen's imprisonment Lucy had asked what happened to her spirits only to be amazed as Loke delivered Taurus' key to her. Now that she had her perverted powerhouse and her quirky maid spirit back Lucy was ready to find Saggittarius at long last. For now she had a fight to win.

"Taurus! Scorpio!" The pair appeared beside her. "Also, Stardress Taurus Form!" The light faded from her, the arena going wild as her outfit was revealed, and Lucy gripped Fleuve d'etoiles before her spirits smirked. "Let's do this, Taurus! We are!" The scorpion shouted before sand erupted from his body that was funneled directly to the axe of the powerhouse, Lucy kicked off from the ground to race alongside Taurus as he prepared his attack. "Sandstorm Axe! Aldebaran!" The rush of sand was nothing Lucy hadn't dealt with before, having spent months sparring with all her spirits, and she lashed out with her whip to grab Kinana's ankle. "As if sand would work on me." The cold voice practically hissed.

Lucy blinked as the sand seemed to darken and burn, dissolving into nothing.

"You use poison magic?!"

She should have known, really, Kinana _was_ Cubelios after all.

"Toxic magic. Poison, corrosive acid...many fun things." Those green eyes sparkled with dangerous intent.


	166. Fight Song

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **FIGHT SONG**

* * *

After revealing her magic Kinana began easily putting the blond on the ropes, none of her spirits had anything strong enough to stop poison save for her water spirits and there was no water anywhere to even summon them from; Urano Metria would be a good choice to unload now but the time it took to amp up left her vulnerable to any attacks. Lucy dodged another poison coated fist and kicked, hard, her foot connecting with Kinana's ribcage and making the female fall back a bit. Lucy blinked, the answer was simple, she honestly couldn't believe she hadn't thought of it. True Kinana would be immune to poison...but he could buy her time. The blond let her hand hover over her keyring and relayed her plan, earning a hiss in reply, before the female grabbed the black key and held it high.

"Open, Gate of the Serpent Bearer, Ophiuchus!" The dark clouds formed and Kinana glared, watching as the giant metal plated snake appeared, nobody had known Lucy had this up her sleeve anyway since Lucy rarely called the Serpent Bearer unless it was absolutely necessary. "Asss you wisssh, Princesss." The snake hissed as it looked at the other human, this Celestial Spirit was so flippant about the rules that the King established the it wasn't safe to summon him frequently anyway. "Thank you, Ophiuchus." Lucy watched as the snake lunged and Kinana jumped high, the girl was amazing at doding but Ophiuchus was immune to her magic attacks so she couldn't do any damage to him. "Gemini." The spirit appeared as a copy of herself, thankfully in more than the bath towel this time, and the blond clasped hands with Gemini as the duo began chanting.

'This time...this time I'll win!' Lucy thought with a grim determination, Kinana needed to lose so she could come home, and as the spell began reaching its peak of power Ophiuchus closed his gate and the stars began to rain down on the arena. With Obra in jail still nobody was here to stop her.

"The winner is Lucy Heartfilia!"


	167. Black Lightning

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **BLACK LIGHTNING**

* * *

"Bickslow versus Orga Nanogear!"

The Seith Mage used his Babies to float down to the arena floor, his normal metal visor in Laxus' hands so Gajeel didn't eat it; the crowd was going berserk as the pair faced one another, Sabertooth was the number one guild once more and Fairy Tail was only number five after all. "Tch, this will be easy." The green haired male commented, dismissing Bickslow as being a threat, and from the stands a voice called out over all the others. "You kick his ass Bickslow! Make that green haired gorilla wish he'd never gotten into the ring with you!" Lucy shouted, her face red with a combination of anger and pride, the Seith Mage resisted the urge to smirk and instead looked at the man across from him.

As the referee called the match to start the green haired man began to spark with black lightning, his hands coming together to form the large orb of magic. Lucy smirked, knowing Bickslow had spent time training with Laxus and the other dragon slayers (to make sure he could work well with them since they were special to her) and so he would know how to avoid or counteract this attack. The seith mage waited for the last moment, the last second, and his totems began to spin rapidly before the green glow of magic appeared between them and bounced the ball of lightning up into the sky where it disappated. "How the hell did ya do that?!" Orga demanded, getting angry as Bickslow didn't answer, and the Seith Mage's eyes began to glow.

"Seith Magic. Human Possession."

The green haired male went still, his eyes wide, and the crowd gaped; Seith Magic was not only rare but terrifying, Bickslow could essentially do whatever he wanted to do to the God Slayer Mage, and the Fairy Tail mage simply smirked. Orga's eyes widened a bit more before he fell limp to the ground.

"The winner is Bickslow!"


	168. Raise Your Glass

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **RAISE YOUR GLASS**

* * *

The bar was noisy as all hell when the doors opened to reveal Quatro Cerberus making their entry, Goldmine immediately going over to Makarov to talk while Bacchus moved to sit beside Cana; Lucy was currently perched on Gajeel's lap, talking animatedly to Natsu about her fight. "Lucy, gorgeous, there you are." Sting greeted with a wag of his eyebrows, ignoring the roll of the eyes from Rogue, and Lucy simply smiled at him.

"Hi Sting, hello Rogue." The dark haired young man nodded in greeting, far more reserved than his blond partner, and Sting eagerly pushed Natsu aside. "You're really strong for a Celestial Spirit Mage, Lucy. Plus you have Taurus now too, and that outfit was hot." He was all over the place, Lucy noticed, and she realized that his slit pupils were almost gone. "Did someone give you chocolate?" When it came to sweets Sting hated most things but if there was chocolate around he would devour it. Then he'd turn into a blond wrecking ball.

"I got it myself, thanks, I'm not a kid anymore." He replied as he turned his nose up, annoyed, and then he yelped as Natsu pushed him off the bench. "Get your own seat, brat." The pink haired dragon slayer commented, his face unamused, and Lucy lifted her eyes to Rogue as the shadow dragon rolled his own eyes. "We came to congratulate you for a well earned victory, Lucy. Truly we are impressed with your skill and I look forward to the prospect of facing you in the ring." Lucy smiled at Rogue and nodded.

"Same here. Don't hold back though, these guys can tell ya, I'll kick your ass harder if you do."

Several nods came from the dragon slayers around her and Rogue smirked. "I understand."


	169. You've Got A Friend In Me

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **YOU'VE GOT A FRIEND IN ME**

* * *

Wendy's eyes shifted to look over at the owner of the sharp scent that had been following her, the green eyed made from Raven Tail who had fought Lucy, and Kinana looked sad; there were bruises all over her pale skin. "C-can you tell Lucy that I'm sorry?" Kinana asked in a soft voice before fleeing, making the sky dragon curious. Without much thought for her own safety, she was a dragon slayer after all, Wendy followed after the girl and found herself outside of Raven Tail's hotel.

"We need her power, even Purehito wasn't strong enough to stop them, once we have Lumen Histoire and the thirteen gate keys we can make all of Fiore bow to us." Ivan's voice echoed from the open window, making Wendy begin to creep away slowly, and she knew that she had to make sure Lucy was protected at all times. Her steps echoed on the concrete as she flew through the streets, to get back to Bar Sun, and as she threw the door open the others didn't seem phased.

Her eyes scanned the room but the only blond present was Laxus. "Where's Lucy?" Wendy knew her voice had risen in pitch but she was worried. "North Star went for a walk." Erik replied in an even tone, unable to hear much from her due to her erratic emotions, and the sky dragon turned and bolted out of the room without a word.

* * *

Brown eyes were wide as she stared at the lock of bright red hair that was wrapped around her in a protective shell, she'd been talking with Loke one moment and the next Kurohebi had attacked and then she knew it had to be Flare that had come to save her.

"Stop it, we won't let you hurt her." Lucy heard Kinana shout before Kurohebi screamed in pain, the blond was released from the hair shell and Flare blushed slightly while Kinana stood a bit further back. "Thank you." Lucy breathed out softly.

* * *

 **I love Flare and Kina so much I hated making them enemies...**


	170. Gather

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **GATHER**

* * *

Erik, Gajeel, Laxus, and Natsu were following after Wendy's scent; they had ordered the Exceeds to take to the air, something was wrong and if Lucy was in danger then there would be problems. A streak of black shot past them and they watched Rogue emerge from the shadows, his eyes were glowing as he moved behind Laxus and a bit off to the right; Sting jumped down as Lector dropped him off and the white dragon mirrored Rogue. "Happy told us there was trouble." The twin dragons commented at the tilt of Erik's head, the poison dragon nodded and they all heard voices ahead of them.

Kinana was holding Lucy's hands, with Flare standing off to the side and Wendy standing over a badly beaten Kurohebi. "Lucy are you alright?" Gajeel demanded, his voice coming out in a growl, and the blond nodded as she looked at them. "Yes, Kinana and Flare saved me." The alpha looked at the pair, the toxic mage was beaten and it was most likely from Ivan, he nodded his head in thanks and glanced at the mimic mage. "You can't go back to Raven Tail after doin' that." Laxus commented, knowing his father wouldn't take it too well, and the pair nodded. "We withdrew from the guild, the judges and King allowed two others to take our places, but Raven Tail has no more substitutions they can use." The redheaded female explained as she lifted her head slightly.

"Come back to Bar Sun." Wendy commented, making Gajeel look at her, and the female dragon slayer watched his eyes darken in a flash before softening as Lucy jumped at the idea. He shot her a warning look before Wendy offered a cheeky smile and followed after Lucy.


	171. Part Ways

**HIRO MASHIMA OWNS FAIRY TAIL**

 **PART WAYS**

* * *

Flare and Kinana weren't going to follow them apparently.

"N-no thank you, really, we'll find another guild to go to after the games. But...good luck, everyone, I know Fairy Tail will win this year." Kinana looked sad, terrified too, but Lucy completely understood why; Erik patted the purple haired woman on the head in thanks while Flare hugged Lucy. The blond watched them walk away for several minutes before sighing and turning around.

The dragon slayers didn't look pleased. "The hell were you thinking?" Gajeel was growling, his red eyes and slit pupils focused on her, and the blond simply raised a brow at his attitude. Lucy wasn't weak, she knew that now, she never really had been.

Being able to take care of herself was something she'd finally learned to do. "I went for a walk to clear my head, seeing as there's a chance of dragons being summoned into the middle of the city within the week." The Alpha sucked in a breath, everyone had danced around her being sent back in time but there were times that it came back to remind them of their terrible fate.

Like now.

"Dragons? Summoned in Crocus?" Sting and Rogue looked lost, as expected, and Gajeel rubbed his temples as Erik explained in short detail that Lucy had been sent back in time after a shitty future. The two slayers blinked at her, looking surprised, and Rogue smiled finally.

"So you knew we'd all come find you? I'm glad, it...feels nice to feel wanted."

Sting nodded too, a playful smile working across his face, and the sound of the fifteen minute warning had everyone freeze up before Lucy was grabbed by Wendy and jetted across the sky.

Seeing as the moon was full and bright, the stars were clear, and she was being held by one of her dragons...it was pretty romantic.


	172. Sky Games

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **SKY GAMES**

* * *

It wasn't Chariot, which was both good and bad.

Lucy wondered if this meant the Naval Battle wasn't happening, seeing as the giant dome of altered gravity was meant to be an in air battle; Lucy noticed several females in skirts pull on shorts underneath and cursed the perverts that came up with this stuff.

"I'll go, I can maneuver in midair better than you all." Wendy gripped her hands tightly, pulling her hair into twin buns on her head rather than pigtails, and the Sky Dragon Slayer earned a tight hug from Lucy as Minerva entered the dome.

The bluenette slayer simply walked down, jumping into the bottom from teh arena floor, and Natsu hummed. "Smart, she's hiding what she can do." The contestants were an impressive lot.

Wendy, Laxus, Minerva, Risley, Ren, Chelia, Rocker, and Laki were floating at different points in the sphere; as soon as the gong went off Wendy's magic flared and a vicious funnel formed around her. "Wind Break!" Rocker, Ren, and Laki slammed into the ground while Risley barely held on and Chelia had a dome of wind around her; Laxus had used his lightning form and Minerva had simply redirected the funnel when it got close to her.

"Tenryuu no Houko!"

"Tenjin no Doko!"

The pale teal and dark purple whirlwinds met and caused a massive funnel to shoot upward, Laxus was busy facing Minerva and dodged the wind only to grunt when the Territory Mage delivered a harsh kick to his back.

He found himself outside the dome in a blink.

Chelia was with him, looking confused, and they looked up to where Wendy was snarling.

Minerva looked genuinely surprised, honestly, because somehow the dragon had managed to avoid her magic.

"Shoha! Tenkuusen!"

The wind barrier had shot up already, the beam of bright light blinding, but Wendy hadn't expected it to work and she'd already cleared the distance.

"Tenryuu no Yokugeki!"

"The winner is Wendy Marvell from Fairy Tail A, and due to the rule Minerva Orlando from Sabertooth is in last place!"

* * *

 **It's been a while, and for that I apologize, I got sucked back into World of Warcraft. x.x**

 **Also, side note, my girlfriend proposed so I'm going to be Mrs. Ludwig soon!**


	173. Too Soon

**Hiro Mashima Owns Fairy Tail**

 **TOO SOON**

Something was wrong, Lucy could feel it in her chest, and the blond turned fast when something darkened her vision. "What is this madness?!"

The announcers were screaming, and so were the crowds, but Lucy couldn't see or hear anything; she felt something holding her tightly, she felt her magic trying to work and her spirits were trying to help her, but she couldn't explain what was going on in any capacity.

The blond found herself falling to her knees, scraping them on a stone surface, and as she reached up to find out what was happening her hands met decorated metal. A sense of dread filled her, the swirls and designs were far too ornate to be anything less than the castle. The darkness was removed as fast as it came and Lucy found herself chained to the Eclipse Gate.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

Arcadius and Hisui looked at the old chancellor, their grim expressions were already set, and the dread Lucy was feeling shot shy high as the Princess held up the box of keys. All thirteen keys began to glow brightly, blindingly bright, and the Fairy Tail mage was trembling as the gate began to unlock.

"No! We're all going to die!"

There was a deep chuckle and Lucy turned her head.

"That's kind of the plan, Lucy, but don't worry too much; we'll make sure your friends don't suffer."

It wasn't a Rogue from the future, like before, this was entirely different; staring back at her were two entirely familiar faces and tears formed on her cheeks. "Don't cry, Luce, we're doing this for you." The Natsu before her had black horns, red scales decorated his clawed hands, and he didn't look like a dragon at all.

"END..."

The pink haired man chuckled. "I'd like you to meet your brother-in-law, he's a great guy."


	174. Unlikely Hero

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **UNLIKELY HERO**

The air was charged with magic, the Eclipse Gate had opened, and Lucy could only watch in horror as dragons began pouring out of the sleek entrance. "No! No, this wasn't supposed to happen!" The blond couldn't break her chains, her wrists growing deep red marks from where she struggled, and END stroked her hair gently as Zeref smiled.

"You two are rather stupid."

The darker tan skinned man with white hair, his complexion broken by electric blue markings, was not someone Lucy had a feeling she knew; her eyes scanned his face, scanned his form, and fear paralyzed her.

"Acnologia..."

The dragon looked at her, his lips curling upward, and he strode closer even as END snarled; the demon went careening into a wall, Zeref was keeping his distance, and Lucy blinked as he crouched down. "You Hearftilia women look the same, my dear, might want to try and wish for a girl that isn't blond." His hands took hers and the slight flare of magic shattered the chains before he helped her to her feet.

"Why?"

The man leaned down and kissed her nose. "He was lying about the Dragon Slayers being Etherious prototypes, and Artemis wasn't made an Etherious when he gave her his magic, you'll figure it out." He patted her head, like she was a child, and kicked the gate closed; fifteen dragons had already begun wrecking the city.

"Wait, what are you-"

Acnologia's pupils were slits now. "Stand back, Starlight, let me kill these bastards for now." Lucy couldn't stop the blush that rose to her face, because honestly only her slayers called her that, and she took her keys back in time for the future Zeref to face her while END stood behind her.

"Survey the Heavens..."


	175. Revelations

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **REVELATIONS**

The palace, and city, were in an uproar; fifteen dragons had taken to the sky and then the black dragon himself had come, Anologia roared as he tore down the first two dragons he came across. Lucy snapped Fleuve d'etoiles at END when he tried to grab her, the demonic version of her best friend went sailing again as she tossed him.

The dragon slayers had been called to arms, their magic the most effective against the giant lizards terrorizing Crocus, so the blond knew she wouldn't be getting help from them. 'I need to destroy the Eclipse Gate but you can't use magic on it. Last time Natsu dropped a dragon onto it-' Lucy bolted after throwing END once more.

The sound of heavy footsteps behind her made the blond immedately start running in a zig-zag, so he didn't hit her while her back was turned, and she dove for the hallway to her right before making an immediate right turn into one of the servant's hallways hidden behind a tapestry. It was a small mercy that she knew it had been there, most manors and palaces had them after all.

The blond made use of the winding hallways to summon Virgo, the maid spirit tunneling into the wall behind a large dresser and Lucy did the same, the pair made their way to the street and emerged near Sting and Rogue. "Lucy!" The resident Drunk Falcon of Quatro Cerberus, Bacchus Groh, was there to help her to her feet.

"We have to destroy the gate that's up there, it can't be harmed with magic, someone has to steer a dragon onto it." Sting's grin was overly wide now.

"I call dibs!"


	176. Even More Unlikely Story

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

 **EVEN MORE UNLIKELY STORY**

Lucy hadn't gotten a word in after making her announcement to Quatro Cerberus, Sting had hijacked Scissor Runner and was using a white thread like spell to make the dragon barrel toward the gate, his whoop of joy as he acted like a rodeo clown made the blond shake her head.

"Heartfilia."

The appearance of Acnologia's human form wasn't nearly as surprising, nothing could really surprise her anymore apparently, and she turned to look at him with a weary expression. The sound of screeching metal, explosions, and Sting's wild laughter as Lector carried him back played around them like a bad action movie scene; the dragons that remained were vanishing with the gate's destruction.

If anyone thought they were getting kissed then they were out of their damn minds.

"Your slayers aren't Etherius, except for the pink one I mean, they were sent forward in time using the Eclipse Gate when they were children. Originally Layla opened this side of the gate but with her early death it was one of the old servants and her granddaughter, which also meant that nobody was there to guide the kids to where they were separated too much." Lucy blinked and wondered why he was telling her this.

"Anna Heartfilia was my matriarch, my wife, and I've been guarding over our descendants since then."

Lucy went horribly still.

"I'm your five-times great grandfather, Little Star."


	177. Family

**Hiro Mashima Owns Fairy Tail**

 **FAMILY**

* * *

Lucy couldn't decide, right away, if it was good or bad that Acnologia was her ancestor; while she was aware the black dragon was merely a Slayer that could shapeshift into a dragon she wondered partially if that somehow altered her DNA if even a little. "You're human, all human, but you have the potential for Celestial Dragon Slayer magic; you'd have to find the stingy bastard's key first." The white haired slayer watched her face, as if waiting for a reaction, and then came anger.

"Wait, if you were looking out for your descendants why did you let my parents die?"

Acnologia's eyes met her own and they narrowed slightly before he growled. "I wasn't close by, Igneel was prowling around and didn't want me near the humans. After he found out they died he apologized, of course, but we both regret what happened." Lucy nodded slowly, waiting, and Acnologia's eyes shifted before he pulled her into a tight hug.

He was shaking.

"Dammit, why do you have to be the special one, why couldn't Artemis just have let this shit lie? I thought they'd drained your life opening that gate." Lucy realized then he did care, a lot, and she patted his back awkwardly as he hugged her.


	178. Monsters

**Hiro Mashima Owns Fairy Tail**

 **MONSTERS**

* * *

"So if I'm not an Etherious...what am I?" Lucy stepped back, when she was released, and Acnologia snarled as the other slayers moved to stand around her. He grunted when a heard smack hit him, Erza holding her giant hammer to hit him again, and the black dragon growled at her too.

The redhead gave a warning look, ready to swing, and the man turned away from her to look at Lucy. "You're human, entirely, but you have a portion of magic sealed within you that is from when Zeref saved Artemis; that magic has been slowly changing and merging with your own, meaning if you meditated more you'd speed the process up and gain more power." He crossed his arms.

"The longer it remains sealed the closer pinky is to becoming END for good, it's Zeref's magic and it's forcing the demon seed within him to bloom." Lucy stared at Natsu, who looked back at her, and she made a firm choice then as she looked at the destruction around them. She'd have to leave for a little while to train.

Her keys warmed, Capricorn loved when she trained after all, and the blond looked over at Acnologia. "You're from the future too, aren't you?" His eyes lightened.

"That was quick, I wasn't expecting you to catch it, Artemis saved my mind too so I could make sure I didn't fuck things up." Lucy nodded, still upset her parents had died when he should have been watching them, but she had a goal.

Tartaros would be coming soon and she had to be ready, any chance of Natsu becoming a demon had to be minimized entirely.


	179. Future

**Hiro Mashima Owns Fairy Tail**

 **NEW PATH**

* * *

Bags sealed away by Virgo, thirteen golden keys adorning her belt, and her blond hair tied in a ponytail for the trip meant she was ready. The house was asleep, the others exhausted from helping clean up Crocus for the past week, and she stepped outside and looked up at Anologia's larger form. The blond looked back, uttered a soft parting, and climbed onto the dragon's back before grabbing some of his hair and holding tight.

Tartaros had been the pivotal point for her journey, where she'd reset everything, and she'd never forget Jakal or Mard Geer's taunting words. This time she'd be strong, she'd be the one to protect the others, and all she needed to do was find a single key to do so.

"Little Star?"

Lucy wiped the tears from her face and looked at the dragon below her, she gave a nod and they were gone in a rush of wind, little did she know that below her the others watched her leave with mixed expressions on their faces and Gajeel clapped his hands together as he shook away the fear for her. "She'll be fine, she's strong, we gotta train though so let's get to it."

Everyone had decided that when Tartaros came they'd be ready this time.


	180. Guardians

Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail

GUARDIANS

There was a hush of sound as the golden dragon weaved through the sky toward where the King awaited him, his body long and serpentine with an almost canine face and small legs; down his back were sharp spines in a glowing silver, his eyes glowed orange and his teeth were bared. "You summoned me, Oberon?" The King turned and regarded the dragon.

"Yes, Seiryu, it is time that the Holy Beasts had a partner."

The dragon scoffed. "There is no human that has the magical power required to summon the Four Holy Beasts." The dragon fell silent at the expression on the face of the King. "You know someone."

The King nodded. "Yes, Leo talked about her all the time, she owns the twelve Zodiac Keys as well as Ophiucus' key." The beast let out a rumble of thought and turned to the assembled spirits, Leo was perched beside Aries while Aquarius was with Scorpio.

"This...Lucy Heartfilia. Tell me about her."

Loke smiled fondly. "Of all the mages to become a Celestial Spirit Mage she has been the most kind, she values us as her friends...and she wants to be the Celestial Dragon Slayer."

Silver brows raised before the dragon smiled wickedly. "Then I guess I'll test her myself. You may lead her to my key, if she passes my test I will guide her to the other Holy Beasts." The dragon rose, flying into the abyss of the Celestial Spirit World, and Oberon looked at his followers.

"Go, she will pass his test."


	181. Seeker

Hiro Mashima Owns Fairy Tail

SEEKER

Lucy was reading through the book that she'd gotten crom Crux, seeing as she had enough time to cram in more knowledge during lunch, and was fascinated that there were so many spirits. While it was true the most known spirits followed the modernized Eighty-Eight constellations there were less popular ones that didn't often bond with humans at all from former Constellations.

In looking for Seiryu she learned of the Four Holy Beasts, based on the continent of Sin to the East, in which the Dragon was a part of. Tigris, Testudo, Draco, and Phoenix; Tigris, which was actually a River, was represented by the fierce Byakko and the King of the Holy Beasts. It was said in legend that gathering the Four Holy Beasts allowed one to summon the King without a sacrifice summon.

The idea of breaking a key was horrendous, Lucy would never disrespect her friends like that, but she was forcing herself to grow stronger so she never had to resort to something like that. "Lucy, we're close." Loki was looking around the massive lake, Seiryu may be the Celestial Dragon but he represented the element of water, the lion wasn't sure where the key was but it was close.

Lucy nodded, smiling, and stood up before tucking the book away. "Stardress, Hydra." The scales covered her form, a soft blue and green to blend with the colors of the water like camouflage, and she dove in to search while gills formed on her neck. It was strange but her feet lengthened, graining a fin-like appearance, and webbing appeared between her fingers to allow her to propel herself faster.

A glimmer of light in the darkness of the lake bed made her cautious, nothing good ever came from a random shine where there was no light to reflect it.


	182. Blinding

Hiro Mashima Owns Fairy Tail

BLINDING

The mage felt Hydra appear beside her, trident in hand, and Lucy clutched her own carefully as they weaved downward; the blond smiled as Dee moved ahead faster, scales taking on a glow of color like a distraction, and a dark shape swam past the shining light. Lucy glanced around and summoned Fornax. While he was technically a furnace the minor spirit often appeared as a lantern, you could open the hatch to his light and throw anything within and it would burn, he ate anything flammable and if you kept the hatch closed he acted as a very powerful lamp.

The massive, thing, hissed as the blinding light filled the lake bed; and Lucy watched Hydra rip into its skin with her trident, some kind of monster, not a spirit, and Lucy used the chain on Fornax' ornate golden design to attach him to her waist as she swam into what looked like a temple below water. The stone was slick with algae but as they moved through a fairly narrow passage she noticed the little crevices were filled with things reflecting the light back. Dee glanced back at her.

"We've got to investigate, I'll go first Hime." Lucy watched the spirit navigate the hallway and sighed as she went next, nothing came at her, the light most likely warding them off, and as they drew into a large cavern she noticed the shining key that looked like it was carved out of translucent silver energy. "Seiryu..." The lesser spirit vanished, waving, and Lucy rolled her eyes as she swam down and looked at the key. Fornax began to flicker, he talked in mores code, and she patted him gently and dismissed him.

The key was giving off so much light and Lucy reached out for it.

As she wrapped her hand around it the key began to brighten to a blinding intensity.


	183. Roulette

Hiro Mashima Owns Fairy Tail

ROULETTE

Lucy peeked an eye open, the spots gone from her vision, and she looked around; orbs along the walls were glowing with a similar light of silver as the key and revealed the glimmering designs carved into the walls of stars and constellations alike. The darkness made it like the night sky. "Hm, Leo was right, you're actually pure-hearted for a human." Lucy turned, seeing the massive golden dragon, and it chuckled as it drew its face close to hers.

"You passed my test, if you'd been less pure then you'd have died, I'm impressed little Princess." The blond felt a touch of anger and a touch of panic.

He was so damn strong. "Thanks, I think. Um, pardon my rudeness, but how come stories of your key aren't really out there as much? Considering how power hungry people are..." The dragon burst into laughter.

"You think you're the first to try for my key? I've had nearly four hundred years of failures attempt to claim me, Lucy Heartfilia, you're the first to ever pass however."

Nausea hit, he'd killed so many people with his test, but the small voice in the back of her head argued they had died because they mistreated their spirits. "Do not worry, little Princess, if the human wasn't entirely cruel to their spirits I let them swim away empty handed." The dragon moved so she was perched on his head and began leading her through the temple to another room.

On one wall a tortoise was depicted, a tiger on another, and the last one had a phoenix; all glowing with silver light.

"The Four Holy Beasts."


	184. Stars

Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail

STARS

Seiryu nodded. "Indeed, and you will be our first human summoner." The blond glanced up at him.

The dragon was amused at the scowl on her face. "Friend, I want to be your friend." A hearty laugh was her answer and his body coiled along the walls, three podiums rose with glowing keys on them, and Lucy watched the keys begin to emit the same painful light as Seiryu's had.

When the light faded they were in a room with no water, she quickly got rid of her Stardress, and the three other Divine Beasts were watching her. "So, this is the Princess that Oberon spoke of, Lucy Heartfilia." That from the Phoenix, a massive crimson bird with flaming feathers for his wings and tail feathers, he had a long yellow feather on his head that curled forward and gleamed like fire.

Testudo chuckled, deep and low, his massive black shell and body was spiky and his toothless mouth appeared to have a ton of small razors within rather than teeth. "Quite unique indeed, to have gathered the Zodiac and not used them as a means to control the Celestial Spirit World...very pure-hearted." All of the four beasts had a similar necklace, jade spheres on a silk ribbon, but each one had a ribbon of their element color. Fiery red and orange for Suzaku the Phoenix, Deep blue and soft turquoise for Seiryu the Dragon, vivid emerald and deep brown for Genbu the Tortoise, and a soft yellow and purple for Byakko the Tiger.

The King of the Holy Beasts jumped down, standing before her, and Lucy looked up into his pale purple eyes without fear. "An interesting little human indeed, with the magic she carries and the Zodiac it was a possibility for her to attempt to take control of the Celestial Spirit World if she chose. Yet she didn't." The tiger paced around her, shrinking to stand eye-to-eye with her, and touched his forehead to hers.


	185. A New Dragon Slayer

Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail

A NEW DRAGON SLAYER

He saw everything, heard everything, and knew this girl had a lot of heart to have survived the things she had. "Little Princess we will serve you, Seiryu will turn you into the Celestial Dragon Slayer, and you will protect your loved ones." The three keys levitated and appeared in her hand, the key head had the beast decorating it and the keys glowed as if they were made of starlight.

Byakko chuckled and Lucy watched them vanish, the water rushing back in, and she quickly drew on Hydra's power and called Fornax before navigating her way out and swimming to the top of the lake. As she returned to the shore Acnologia helped her out, arms crossed, and she showed him her find with a cheeky grin.

"Ah, impressive."

Without hesitating she called on Seiryu, watching his golden form spiral into existence, and he studied Acnologia with a snort of amusement before turning to his human. "I will initiate the bond between Dragon and Slayer." As he said this his form shrunk, forehead connecting with hers, and she felt his magic brushing her own; it was a bonding of souls, on a spiritual level, and as his magic surrounded her own she allowed him to see and feel her own soul.

Acnologia watched as Lucy began to glow, scales of soft gold running down her arms and legs, and then the dragon features faded and Seiryu pulled back. "With me being a Celestial Spirit you do not have to fear becoming a Dragon, Lucy, for our soul bond allows me to prevent such things." Acnologia nodded and stepped back, it was time to let Lucy begin the training with her dragon.


End file.
